Technology: Nintendo Wii & Wii Fit (Part I)

I must admit I am a late newcomer to the Nintendo Wii world but I am totally hooked on it.
I remember being in Paris about this time last year and hearing a story at a table nearby at a restaurant. This friend of the story teller had purchased the Wii. Before that, he had spent about 1500 euro on a nice flat-screen TV. I don't know what game he was playing, I will guess bowling or baseball and he got so much into it that the remote flew off his hand and ended up hitting the TV. Unfortunately, the newly purchased TV was damaged beyond repair. I am sure he was not too happy about it.
Now that I have a Wii myself, I can see how it could happen and it is one of the reasons you get all the warnings about strapping the remote to your wrist correctly so it doesn't fly off. I think because of that story, I have been careful myself.
I must give props to Nintendo for creating this game system that attracts all ages. Games like tennis, bowling and boxing are lots of fun for a party.
Of course, once you have the Wii, you must get the latest gadget, the Wii Fit. As a yoga practitioner, I was a little skeptical about the yoga exercises for the Fit. I figured they cannot replace an actual class at a yoga studio. But I figured I would give it a try.
The first time you start the Wii Fit, you go through a series of steps to determine your weight, body mass and fit age. I am ashamed to admit my fit age was about 15 years older than my current age ;-( That was bad news to hear, but it was not a deterrent to stop right there.
You can select from 4 different types of exercises: yoga, aerobics, balance and strength training. You also get to chose your personal trainer (male or female). The trainer will demonstrate each exercise before you have to do it yourself. This is a step that can be skipped in the future. At the end of each exercise you get a rating (1 to four stars) and points. The better you do, the more fit points you score and after you reach a certain number of fit points additional exercises will get unlock for you to try.

When I didn't use the Wii Fit for a few days, I was welcomed with the message: "Too busy to exercise?" I guess somebody was keeping track, even if I wasn't.

If you are in the market for a gaming console, I would definitely recommend the Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit as it has something for everybody and provides great entertainment for parties!

More to come in Part II.

Travel bug: Granada

If you are ever in Spain, you must visit Granada. Although not a typical destination for most people who prefer to visit bigger cities during their first time in Spain (like Madrid, Barcelona, Seville or San Sebastian). Granada provides access to skiing (Sierra Nevada), hiking (Alpujarras) and coastal towns (Salobreña, Almuñecar, Motril) most within 1 or 2 hour travel distance from the city center. It is also home for the University of Granada founded in 1531, with approximately 60000 students. Also the Centro de Lenguas Modernas - a language school offering Spanish classes for thousands of foreign students every year.








Start with a walk in El Albayzín. This is the Arab quarter and there are a lot of little tea shops called "teterías". You must try some of their specialty teas and pastries. Some of them have been there for a long time. The decor will remind you of a Moroccan baazar. The streets are narrow and most of them only pedestrian.

The road up to the Mirador de San Nicolás is a long and windy road although you can be smart and take one of the small buses that will drop you directly at the mirador. But if you like adventure, you should just try to get there yourself. It is fun to just walk around the winding narrow streets and get lost. I don't remember ever going up the same way twice. That's the beauty of it!

The best view of the Alhambra and popular spot for visitors. Go early in the morning to see the sunrise or later in the day for the sunset. It will be an unforgettable experience.



There are no words to describe the Alhambra and Generalife so I will just post some pictures which probably don't do justice to their intrinsic beauty.

I loved the reflection of The Partal in the water here (one of the palaces in the Alhambra) and currently the main picture selected for the blog.

Most people that go to Granada will certainly visit the Alhambra and if you try to buy tickets on the web they may not be available. I recommend trying to take a bus early in the morning and get tickets at the door since they usually keep some for people who arrive on foot. You can also try having your hotel book you tickets, specially if you are interested in a guided tour, but that could be fairly expensive.


View of the Alhambra from Paseo de los Tristes. Start in Plaza Nueva, continue through Carrera del Darro and you will find yourself at the Paseo de los Tristes. From there you can go up Cuesta del Chapíz and reach Mirador de San Nicolás. But it is fairly steep, so be prepared.
If you are interested in shopping, don't miss out on a walk by Calle de los Mesones and Plaza de Bibarrambla.
Also, make sure you visit the Cathedral, Jardines del Triunfo, Parque de García Lorca. But you must try to walk around and get lost as you take in the views of the city.

If you arrive by plane, there is a bus that leaves the airport about 15 to 20 minutes after arrival and will take you to the different locations in the city center. It will cost you less that 5 euros. It certainly beats 18 to 20 euros if you take a taxi. The same service operates from the city back to the airport. Make sure you ask the bus driver for a leaflet with this information.

Most bars will offer free small snacks known as "tapas" with your drink. Granada is one of the few cities in Spain that still does this. Sometimes you will be asked to select among different choices, in other places they will just bring something for you. It is definitely fun to bar hop and figure out where the best tapas are. Just a word of caution if you are vegetarian, you may not be lucky when it comes to getting free tapas as most of them will contain some sort of "meat product". But it is always fun to watch other people eat, right?

Pets: Poop is poop no matter where it lands

Sorry if the quality of the image is not the best. It reads: "J'aime mon quartier. Je ramasse." Which loosely translated to English would be: "I love my neighborhood. I pick up after my dog."
Maybe we need to create such street signs in the United States because I am getting tired of people not picking up after their pets and maybe the visual will help.

Instead of enjoying every walk, it is more like a obstacle race where you have to constantly be watching out where your pet or yourself are stepping on. Not long ago as I was walking my pet, I saw a woman crossing the street with her dog. The dog went to the bathroom and the owner continued walking. So I walked up to her and offer her a bag in case she didn't have one. She said since the dog went to the bathroom in the middle of the road, she figured she didn't have to pick up. I was glad to inform her that poop is poop no matter where it lands.

I like this Doggie-Bags East: "The grass is always greener... (When there is a doggie-bag dispenser nearby!)." But it shouldn't have to be this way. If you are a pet owner, you are responsible for having your own bags available at all times and picking up after your dog.

Maybe somebody needs to create a website for poop offenders with photograpic proof? ;-)

Technology: Twitter

Today I joined Twitter. I seem to be one of those people that carefully considers all the pros and cons before joining the new tools for social networking. I finally decided to give it a try and find out for myself what the fuss is all about.
Signing up was fairly easy. The next step is to start searching for people you may want to follow. And finally you just cross your fingers and hope somebody will start following you and somehow start some sort of meaningful conversation. You just hope somebody will care enough to want to know "what you are doing?". Then again, "twittering" is not much different than "blogging" since you also need followers for your blog. Anybody out there? ;-)

Fashion: Baby Onesies & Baby Legs

I saw this cute little onsie today. It would make a great gift for a newborn and they also have a tee version for up to 24 months. If you are in the market for a baby gift, you may want to consider this.

After doing some research on the web, I found this website Sassy*Onesis which has a fairly good selection of "sassy" and "funny" onesis as well.

While surfing this website I came across Baby Legs. I heard a radio interview with the owner of this store a while back and I found it fascinating to hear how she created the baby legs for her own child and now it is being sold in over 50 countries. How impressive is that?

Fashion: Grocery bags

Check out Smudge Ink if you are in the market for recyclable grocery bags. They have a lot of floral designs that are definitely nicer than some of the bags currently offered at most grocery stores.



That being said, most grocery stores will only charge about $1 for their bags and these ones are about $10.

It is not easy being green & stylish! ;-)

Fashion: Shoes

Camper is one of the shoe brands that has been breaking ground in the United States. It is based in Spain and created in 1975. Their motto is "Imagination walks". Even the high heels (Helena model name) have what they called "Heeltherapy" which makes them very comfortable.
I usually love their summer collection since they come up with a lot of bright colors and fairly cool designs.

Twins, described as: "They are twins. Not identical but complimentary. The idea of a pair never made such sense." Which is true if you think about it.


Bianca, described as: "How can a shoe with such a high heel be this comfortable? Bianca is a stable, comfortable, very feminine shoe which is at the forefront of fashion."



Danae, described as: "Camper's 24-hour women's sandal, height and comfort in a single product."



Unfortunately the Camper e-shop doesn't let me link to specific shoes, so you can click here to go to the main page and then you can select the collections on the left and browse each of them.

There is even Camper for babies. How cute is that?

If you want to hear about their sales, you should subscribe to their newsletter. They don't send too many emails, probably once a quarter. The Camper e-shop usually has two sales a year: one in January-February and another one in the July-August timeframe. You can get fairly good deals but some sizes may not be available.

The Camper e-shop is a good way to buy Camper. Some of the models are only available there and you won't be able to find it on any of the other sites. It is also easy to do a return if you have the wrong size or if you don't like the shoes after you try them on.

There are many other places on-line where you can buy Camper. You will definitely want to do your homework because the price of the same model can vary from one vendor to another. Below is a list of some reputable sources:

• Online Shoes: they usually have good deals on Camper as Final Clearance or some other sales.
• Piperlime: they usually have good deals on Final Sale for Camper. But before you buy from them, make sure you do additional research on the web. You may be able to find the same model cheaper somewhere else.
  
• Shoes.com: they sometimes have some good deals on Camper but be careful and they seem to inflate their prices quite a bit compared to other sites.
• ShoeMall: they sometimes have some good deals on Camper.

I must say that although Zappos used to be my number 1 site for shoes, it has been moved to the end of the list due to their high prices.