A huge thanks to the board members of the Koret Family House and San Francisco Magazine! I purchased raffle tickets last nite from darling volunteer Gwen at the fabulous Best of the Bay Area Party and I WON the Grand Prize! AN INSTANT WINE CELLAR featuring approximately 100 bottles of premium California wine from the private wine collections of Koret board members.

I am so excited!! I know that several of the wines will be donated to organizations that I love and support like VIDA. And so the gift is passed on and grows in ever growing ripples of support and love. And I love wine!

From my own experience, I encourage you to find an organization that serves and speaks to your heart. With each donation you make a powerful difference. No mater how small. Be consistent. You will be rewarded. Maybe not in incredible wine - but certainly in life.

San Francisco Magazine presents the Best of the Bay Area every year - each year benefiting a different San Francisco based non-profit. It’s a dassling night of tasting and sampling of the best the Bay Area has to offer. Live music, live art and lively people.

This years event was the best yet. Tango Diva readers were there in style! Some of our favorite samples: fresh white corn & shrimp salad from Moose’s Restaurant, cool cosmos from the Grey Goose bar, tasty tidbits from Roys, Americano, Destino, Piperade and Tres Agaves. So much good food and drinks and music. SF Magazine knows how to throw a party!

And the benefactor of the all the hard work and wonderful donations is the Koret Family House serving as a home away from home for families of seriously ill children being treated at the University of California San Francisco Children’s Hospital. 

So - if you were there - share your favorites of the evening with me, And if you were not there - plan on it next year. Tango Diva readers get a special ticket discount! 

I was never a fan of Al Gore. And since the circus act known as the 2000 presidential election he has been off my radar. Until last night. My husband and I went to see “An Inconvenient Truth” and we both left the theatre with tears in our eyes and a commitment to help stop global warming.

Seeing this movie should be mandatory. It should be taken out of the movie theaters and put on every national television station for 24 hours straight. Baseball games should stop and this movie should be played in stadiums across the country.

I am not an activist. I don’t hug trees or drive a Prius, but after this movie I am seriously thinking of ways that I can help stop global warming. The crazy thing is that you would think the United States would be part of the solution. But we are the biggest contributors to this problem!!! Our country is responsible for 30% of all the Carbon dioxide emissions that is killing the planet. 30%!!!! That is CRAZY!

This movie is so powerful that my husband – a conservative republican (don’t hate him) left the movie theatre talking like a democrat! He was questioning the role that our own government has in this problem. He even said, “ For all the money we have wasted on the war in Iraq, we could have converted thousands of homes to solar power, and that would help save the planet!”  

Please see the movie. It is the first step in many steps that need to happen. But if we each take responsibiley for our role, we will be able to save this planet for our children and grandchildren.

For more information go to the officel webiste

So there I was at 7 am on a Sunday morning, gainfully making my way to a divey sports bar in San Francisco’s lower Haight. The fog was thick, the gay pride parade was gearing up across town, and even though shootings were not uncommon on the corner where I found parking, it was too early for troublemaking, and the streets were dead (of natural causes).

Yet inside the Mad Dog in the Fog, it was another world. The place was packed and the air was hot from all the bodies pushed together like British bricks and mortar. The air was humid too. Bodies throwing off heat AND water? What was with the atmospheric changes?

I found a spot on a wooden bench in the very front of the bar where the pool table had been pushed aside, and 2 small tv’s bravely stared back at us from the ceiling corners. My World Cup teacher, Richard, stood alert, at the ready in his white and red England shirt. He had taught me to say, "In-Ger-Land" (and not "Go, UK!"). The woman next to me hacked several SARS-y coughs and fidgeted ceaselessly. The bench wasn’t comfortable (duh). She couldn’t see the tv’s. She turned to Richard’s expectant wife sitting on the other side of me- your eyesight’s the first to go when you have a baby!

The match started promptly at 8 am- England v Ecuador. Quito and the Queen. The grass was green, the ball white, and men were running back and forth, forth and back. The crowd cheered everytime the ball neared the net. The woman next to me stood up on the bench to get a better view. And the whole time I’m thinking to myself, soccer- I don’t get it.

A male friend had suggested that I put some money on England- that would get me in the game. But why should I have to use money to make something interesting? Or maybe I should just go where the real action is and TiVo the next episode of "Footballers’ Wives." The sad fact of the matter is that soccer is like buttermilk and I’ve been raised on skim milk. I was never indoctrinated into this world- never played as a little girl. And let’s face it- my country just isn’t that into it. Especially not in Texas, where I’m from. I mean, when I got to my East Coast college, I was astounded that there were more sports in the world than football and baseball- they had things called lacrosse and rugby.

I could barely see Beckham’s handsome face. And I am not a morning person. And not that much was really going on. So I decided to go back to bed. There was a man at the door shooing people away. It was 8:15 am and our bar was full. Two women draped in a huge In-Ger-Land soccer flag were crushed. I asked if I could take their picture and they shot me a horrified look: "The GAME’S on! We’ve got to GO!" They ran next door into a cafe. I got in my car.

It turns out that England won- Go UK! Becks scored the single goal. And not till an hour in. Is it just me or would that have been a sorta dull hour?

One of my best friends lives in Hamburg and I emailed her to find out the scoop. She was incredulous:

"I can’t believe that you do not really know what’s going on here! If you had asked this question on the street in Hamburg at the moment, you would be dead. Germany is totally crazed. People from all around the world are running around in groups with the same T-shirt on, drinking German beer. The spirit is amazing and Germany is sooooo happy to be the host of the most important sport event in the world (in fact that’s what they think it is- of course they do not know that a lovely lady in San Francisco has no idea why this is so important).

"Most of my male friends have not called me since the soccer game has started. It is the only time when the boys are not interested in the girls anymore."

In fact another friend told me something I have yet to verify, that two warring nations declared a truce during the World Cup. She figured that if only we could keep men in constant competition, there would be no more war.

So for peace, for the national solidarity it engenders, and for unearthing hot foreign men in metropolises around the world, as well as creating an irresistible international atmosphere -hot and humid- even in the most provencial towns, reminding us all that there’s a great big world out there, I say Viva the World Cup! I can love it and not watch it, right? At least not before eleven am?

I am in the midst of going through the raw data of our last research project. I am amazed by how my women are still afraid of traveling alone. Why is that? What are you afraid of, really?

I am trying hard to understand this, because I have never been afraid to travel alone, so I can’t comprehend the fear. For example, I’m not afraid of heights and I just don’t get why people are afraid of being high up? What is the fear about?? Falling? Death? Getting hurt? What?? I’m afraid of bugs that bite and cockroaches. Why? Because of diseases and having some gross bug crawl up my leg or in my mouth while I’m sleeping. Now, to me that is a real fear. I’ve been bit, and I have had a bug crawl up my leg, and it’s really horrible. But heights? I don’t get it. Please explain.

So, then it got me thinking about focusing on the good versus the bad. If I focused on all the bad things that “could” possibly happen to me while I traveled, I’d never leave my house. But luckily, I don’t. I focus on all the wonderfully new and exciting adventures that I am going to have and all the fabulous people I am going to meet. And it always happens. I always – and I mean always – meet the best people in the world while I travel solo. And occasionally I get bit by a bug or monkey or a swarm of paper wasps, but nothing has killed me yet. Well, the monkey was a close call!

So, just like the attitude I take when I travel, I will take the same one when I blog. Like Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “Don’t waste yourself in rejection, nor bark against the bad, but chant the beauty of the good."

I’ve tried really hard to live in integrity. I started Tango Diva out of love to help women find their passions through travel and help them connect with other women throughout the world. It seemed simple when I started, but damn, it is hard work. And the thing that makes it so much harder is the freakin’ turkeys who try to bring me down. Last December, someone attacked our server and we lost thousands of member’s e-mails, now we are getting attacked daily on out Forum by spammers who want to sell drugs.

But the worst attacks are the personal ones. The ones from people who criticize what we are doing, how we are doing it, and generally complain. Thank goodness they don’t come around that often, but when they do, it sucks. I got a post from someone yesterday that was pretty rude. I say, if you don’t like what someone is doing – go out there and do it better, but don’t criticize without action. It’s so tacky.

At last the final edits to FLY SOLO are done and now I get to go through all the pictures and find the bet ones for my book. Of course, we are having the online contest that will determine many of the shots, but I am still missing pictures for a ton of locations in the book.

I’d love to tell you the pictures I need so you can send them to me, but that would take away the suspense of the 50 best places for a girl to travel alone!

I’ll give you a few hints of the places I need pictures for. If you have a picture of yourself SOLO in the shot - please enter our photo contest. The final date for pictures is the 20th!

1. This city rose up from under the iron curtain and is two cities in one.

2. This saucy city is was the home of Dali, Picasso, and Gaudi.

3. This high-altitude destination just hosted the Winter Olympics.

Enter here!

I was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California. So was my father. When I was a young girl, he would take me with him on long Sunday afternoon drives across the purple-pink San Gabriel foothills. He loved the power of his ‘72 Mercedes 350 Sl convertible and I loved the wind in my hair and spending one–on-one time with Dad. He would slow down and point out historical landmarks or places he rode his bike to as a boy, gliding up and down and round the soft curves of the freshly tarred roads of Montecito. Zooming through the dappled shadows of eucalyptus trees behind the Santa Barbara Mission. Surging into summer sunshine and bright heavy boughs of bouganvilla along the Riveria. It was here that the stately spanish style buildings would enchant me. So elegant. So mysterious. Long and narrow private driveways that disappeared under towering palm trees. Proud fat cats sunning and preening themselves for all to see as the cars passed by.

One of these stately structures was the El Encanto Hotel. A favorite of hollywood celebs.The enchanted one. Reccently purchased by the Orient Express and scheduled to close after 90 stunning years for renovation this Fall. A world class resort. Amazing views. Soft, natural, perfumed light. Romantic. Charming. Stylish. Until now I imagined I would hold my wedding reception here.

Instead I plan to stay at the El Encanto this summer and say a loving goodbye to a time and place in California and my personal history. Fingers crossed, I plan to drive from San Francisco to Santa Barbara in that same 1972 Mercedes 350 SL. Thanks Dad.

Whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, and no matter where on earth you live, what happened at the very first annual YearlyKos gathering of the netroots (as opposed to grassroots- Internet roots) should be an inspiration to us all.

Over the weekend in Las Vegas, at the historically kooky off-strip Riviera Hotel, 1000 very informed progressive (as in anti-Republican/anti-Bush) political bloggers gathered together to meet in person for the first time (omigosh, YOU’RE DarkSyde??) and to flex their burgeoning political power. Individually, we are nobody special. But together we are a movement and voice of change.

And you better believe that the establishment took notice. Big name players showed up to address us (Howard Dean, Barbara Boxer, Arianna Huffington, Harry Reid) and even to wine and dine us! Mark Warner threw us a fabulous party at the Stratosphere, and retired General Wesley Clark entertained us at the Hard Rock.

YearlyKos grew organically out of DailyKos, the most popular left wing blog website on the planet. Started by visionary Markos Moulitsas Zúniga (hence the "Kos" = Markos), even he was noticeably awed at the momentum that had grown out of his efforts.  

You’ll probably hear about our historic gathering, a 21st century Constitutional Convention, on tv, in magazines and newspapers. You’ll hear us much maligned or cheered for. Perhaps one day school children will pull up in buses outside the Riviera and their teachers will say, "This is where it all began…"

It was an incredible experience in democracy and people power. For people with left-leaning sympathies who oppose the war, support stem cell research and want to spend money on education and healthcare and not defense, it was a weekend full of hope that someday the U.S. government will be taken back by humanitarian and just leaders. But like I said, no matter your political leanings or national identities, the fact that a guy could start a blog that could start a movement that could start a revolution is a very powerful piece of news. Viva Blogging Divas!
 

America’s Luggage Depot in downtown Petaluma is offering an exclusive service for travelers — luggage rentals.  Reservations are for high quality luggage pieces. The ultimate goal is a better travel experience, with no more fussing with inexpensive luggage and its inherent problems. Benefits include not having to borrow luggage from friends (done that), store space gobbling luggage or use (heven forbid) old bags. Instead always carry stylish, dependable and up-to-date luggage. Diva’s who fall in love with the luggage they rent and have to have one of their one can purchase the same brand new bag with a portion of their rental agreement put towards the new purchase.  According to America’s Luggage Depot, the new service is a unique first-of-its-kind nation-wide, and patent pending venture.  For more information, stop by the  store at 9 Petaluma Blvd. N.. California or visit www.WeRentLuggage.com. Rentals are available from Tuesday through Sunday,  11 a.m. to 5 p.m., or by appointment. Special accommodations are also available. The phone number is 778-8388.

10 weeks, five designers, one poodle, two facial parties, one street stroll, two wine tastings, one clothing swap, countless prayers, many sleepless nights, one cinco de mayo celebration, dozens of volunteers, teams of supporters, $70,000 in cash, $40,000 in kind donations, and one Woman of the Year! That would be me. Thank you to everyone who supported me and gave generously to fight blood cancers!

Now I need to finish the line edits of my book and take a nap.