Welcome to the relaunch of Culture Jaunt. After a short summer break, I’m jaunting in the new direction of books, food and booze – three wonderful parts of life I’m constantly excited about.

In these pages, you will now find some of the following topics:

• book reviews and more book-inspired topics
• my favorite dishes to cook as well as new ones I’ll be cooking up
• booze (need I say more?). Although, I did never develop a taste for beer, so you most likely won’t find anything about that here.

Celebrating Independence Day isn’t just about BBQ’s and fireworks, but learning about history and culture that has shaped our world today. In honor of history and learning, Wawa Welcome America! Festival presents Go 4th and Learn, a series of interactive history lessons for children of all ages. Continue reading →

Just in time for Easter, Jonathan Leshnoff’s Hope: An Oratorio celebrates mankind’s universal journey from the throes of abandonment to the revival of hope.

The definition of an oratorio is:

a large-scale musical work for orchestra and voices, typically a narrative on a religious theme, performed without the use of costumes, scenery, or action. Well-known examples include Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Handel’s Messiah, and Haydn’s The Creation.

Composer, Jonathan Leshnoff

Using the traditional oratorio form as a base, Leshnoff transcends all traditional boundaries by creating an epic piece that is alternately lyrical and lively, toe-tapping and dramatic. HOPE brings together voices and languages not typically heard together – a classical soprano and tenor, a male jazz singer, and a female vocalist-performance artist – creating exciting new modes of vocal expression.

From ethereal writing for children’s voices to a climax that will literally shake the rafters as the Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ reaches its extreme registers, HOPE embraces people of all spiritual beliefs. This sacred work will feature texts from a variety of spiritual and worldly sources and will be sung in several languages. The audience will be taken on a journey that is common to all humans – beginning in doubt, moving to a reflective middle passage, and ultimately finding peace.

Tomorrow (yes, tomorrow!), April 24 at 3 p.m. will premier this unique piece, introducing the collaboration of The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Roberto Minczuk conducting, and featuring four soloists, including Sussan Deyhim and award-winning jazz vocalist and composer David Linx. They will be joined by the Pennsylvania Girlchoir and the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia.

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Stay tuned for more live coverage and impressions of the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts through May 1, supported by PIFA.

Download the PIFA iPhone App or the PIFA Android App

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>As for most Christmases, I flew home to Wiesbaden, Germany to visit my mom. Luckily I flew on December 15., right ahead of the snow storm that hit Europe and now has seemingly traveled across the Atlantic to the East Coast (obviously I know this isn’t the same storm, but it is fun to imagine).

Tomorrow, we are flying to Barcelona for New Years and I am hoping that the weather is, yet again, on my side. This will be my first trip to Barcelona and I am very excited for: slightly warmer weather, speaking Spanish (and learning some Catalan), seeing the beauty of the city and people and most of all to capture everything I can through the lens of my Nikon D80!!!!

I wish you all a safe and happy New Years.

>Panama is one of my favorite places to visit because it’s such a beautiful country. It also helps that I have family there.

Check out my latest post for Being Latino that shows great images of this must-see country.

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Something thing that really takes the fun out of traveling is getting sick, whether it’s a cold, a stomach virus or an upset stomach. But it’s easy to forget that it is just as easy to get sick while you’re at home.

While I didn’t travel anywhere this past weekend, my bought of food poisoning this past weekend reminded me of my trip to Sharm El Sheikh in 2005.While I did manage to get my scuba license, the rest of my trip I was confined to my bed with what I thought was an upset stomach and later found out was appendicitis.

Not being able to eat at all and barely retain fluids coupled by severe stomach cramps is not enjoyable, but are the symptoms of an upset stomach, food poisoning or a more severe illness.

Whether abroad or at home here are some tips to help avoid getting sick:

1. Find out if it’s safe to drink tap water and if it’s not, stay away from drinks that may be prepared with it, ice, swallowing water in the shower and brushing your teeth with sink water.
2. Wash your hands frequently.
3. Eat fruits with a peel and that have been thoroughly washed.
4. In hot climates make sure to eat fresh meat and food that is cooked in front of you, especially in open air markets.
5. Trust your instinct: if food looks like it is bad or has been sitting out all day (and isn’t meant to) then don’t eat it. If in doubt, ask when the food was prepared.
6. WikiHow suggests adding a cap full of vinegar of lemon juice to every 8 oz. you drink to create an acidic environment that most microbes can’t live in.
7. Carry Pepto Bismol for quick relief.
8. Drink hot tea, for example green tea or chamomile, which provide useful antioxidants and calm your stomach.

While it’s not always possible to avoid getting sick, I hope these tips help you. If you know of any other tips that should be shared with the world, please share them.

Safe travels.

>Whether you decide to book your trip with a travel company or go it on your own, the one thing I would highly recommend is checking out your destination of choice on foot. It is one of the easiest, cheapest and healthiest ways to learn about the place you’ve chosen to visit.

Depending on where you go, you may stay in a hotel that offers trips and packages and while it is nice to go on these, nothing beats exploring on your own (with a little help from locals). What I would suggest is contacting people (family, friends, Facebook even) who know the area before hand or talk to the concierge at your hotel.

If you need some help getting started on walking tours, check out some of the links below…otherwise have fun with your maps.

Tip: Getting lost or wandering down a street on a whim can lead to great discoveries, just stay safe when you do it.

http://www.theconstitutional.com/

http://www.walkingadventures.com/

http://spiritsof76.com/

http://www.bigonion.com/

http://www.sfcityguides.org/