Where am I again?!

In the capital city, there is a hotel that costs $250 a night to stay in. When you walk through the massive security gates you enter into a world that is nothing like the one you left behind. You can change into a bikini and go for a dip in the pool. You can sip a cappuccino while checking your email on your computer via wireless. You can get a massage or a facial. You can eat at the buffet for a mere $35 a person. You can stroll through the garden with the roses in bloom, the fountain flowing, and the grass soft beneath your feet. For some, in other parts of hte world, this is may be an everyday experience. Here, it is a rare treat.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to see the dance recital of a studio here in town. Some of my friends' children were in it. So, I went with others to see the performance and then afterward we sat in the courtyard, eating the best bowl of ice cream I've had in awhile, letting the breeze blow through my hair as my scarf rested on my shoulders and then topped it off with a nice strong cup of coffee. I was in heaven. What a blessing! Here are a few photos from my day:





In this last photo I am wearing an antique wedding headdress. The shopkeeper said it came from the city that I live in, but the stitching on it was from a group in the south part of the country. I don't know if any of that was true, but it looked so funky I couldn't resist a photo opp.