Photos

Wouldn't you like to travel the world?

Save enough money to take a year off and leave behind your work, family, friends and home. Get the chance to encounter the culture, food and lifestyles from different countries.

Menlo Park resident Frances Freyberg was fortunate enough to experience just that. From January to December of 2008, she visited 41 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and South America. She documented her entire trip on her blog called "Worldwide Whirlwind," at wheresfrances.blogspot.com. The blog features numerous postings of photos and writing about her adventures in particular places; she hopes to turn it into a book.

"My primary plan was keeping my blog up-to-date for family and friends," said Freyberg, 30. "It turned out to be my personal diary."

During her travels, Freyberg took approximately 30,000 pictures with her pocket-size Canon camera, focusing mainly on people, nature, animals and architecture.

This spring, she's showing many of her favorite photos in her first exhibition. The Yoga Mind Warrior Body studio in downtown Palo Alto is currently hosting the show of Freyberg's photos through at least May, featuring framed artwork from Asia and national parks.

Freyberg is also taking part in Silicon Valley Open Studios, an annual event in which about 300 artists open up their studios in homes and galleries for public viewing and purchase of their art. She'll be at Yoga Mind Warrior Body on the weekend of May 2-3, and at a friend's home at 753 Partridge Ave. in Menlo Park on May 16 and 17.

Both art and traveling are things that Freyberg took a liking to at an early age. She took art classes with her father at the Pacific Art League, and since her dad is from New Zealand and her mom is from the Philippines, she took many international trips visiting family.

"I've always had an interest in art," she said. "I've had no formal training; I just always liked it."

In the early '90s, Freyberg was intrigued to hear that her cousin from New Zealand had traveled for a year. She thought, "Gee, that's what I want to do someday!" and then found herself in a book store reading a manual on how to plan a year-long trip.

Last year, after leaving her high-tech communications job at Sun Microsystems, she finally launched her journey. She took the majority of her trips solo, using a small touring company that planned her trips and used local accommodations and transportation.

The trip started with her ringing in the 2008 New Year in Rio de Janeiro. Pictures of locals, beaches, volcanoes and colorful flowers made it into her blog. During January, she visited Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile.

"I wanted to go to places I haven't been before," she added with a look of accomplishment. "I really wanted to see Africa. I really wanted to go to the Middle East, particularly Egypt."

When she was 4 years old, she saw a Sesame Street special called "Don't Eat the Pictures." In the movie Big Bird takes a field trip to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he meets a young Egyptian prince who shows him the pyramids.

Since then, Freyberg had it in her mind that when she grew up she would see those exact pyramids. Mission success! Freyberg happily sat on the Great Pyramid in April 2008. Her photos include pictures of the Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza that show both detail and overall views.

Freyberg had packed language books in case she needed any reference, but ended up finding English-speakers everywhere she traveled.

"I was in a country a little less than a week on average. I needed to learn 'hello, goodbye, thank you, and my name is,'" Freyberg said.

She also said she felt very safe wherever she was, and found people very welcoming. While in Syria, she met a group of young women and asked if they wanted to chat since not many females were around. The Syrian women were medical students and gave Freyberg a tour through their university.

"It's funny to see the differences and similarities. We all liked 'Grey's Anatomy,'" Freyberg said, laughing.

It was a European-filled summer and by the end of August she made her way back to the States. Freyberg, an avid hiker, saw Yellowstone National Park, Grand Tetons in Wyoming and the John Muir Trail. She captured the landscapes of the mountains and trails with colorful sunsets and views.

The last few months of 2008 ended in Southeast Asia. Temples, artifacts, food and the marketplace were her main focal points, as well as a group of vibrant parasols that resulted in one of her favorite photos.

"Cambodia and Laos were so beautiful! The food was good," Freyberg said, adding that her favorite foods were in Asia.

In Cambodia, she took cooking classes, making her favorite beef lok lak with an oyster sauce, and a banana flower salad with steamed chicken and a tart dressing, served in a banana flower petal. However, she doesn't recommend the fried spiders after taking one bite of a crunchy leg.

Back home with the exhibits approaching, Freyberg took on the role of director of development for Mission Hospice in San Mateo. All proceeds from her second open-studio exhibit, held at her friend Kim Burnham's house in Menlo Park, will be donated to the hospice.

"Frances has such a great eye," Burnham said. "She came back and had a wonderful blog and pictures. The open studio is a great way to show her work to people."

Burnham mentioned she has attended numerous open studios. She said she has found unique pieces for her home, adding that she likes original pieces rather than pictures everyone has. "It's affordable art; it's kind of like a treasure hunt for artists," she said of the event.

Freyberg said she hopes to educate viewers through her photography, whether she's showing familiar places or new territory.

"I'll be happy if I can excite someone about someplace else in the world," Freyberg said with a smile. "If they see my photo and they think it's beautiful and want to go there, to me that's success."

What: Photos on exhibit this spring from Frances Freyberg's year of global travel

Where and when: Photos are on display at the Yoga Mind Warrior Body studio at 609B Cowper Ave. in Palo Alto through at least May. Freyberg will also appear with her work through Silicon Valley Open Studios: She'll be at the yoga studio on May 2 and 3 and at a friend's house at 753 Partridge Ave. in Menlo Park on May 16 and 17, all days from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Cost: Free admission, with art for sale

Info: Go to www.francesfreyberg.com or call 650-273-3505. Information about Silicon Valley Open Studios is at www.svos.org.