Sixtysomething-year-old newlyweds travelling the world together – Adventure Awaits!
In a conversation with his brother Bill, I overheard John refer to Cambridge, England, where we now are, as “Starkville with medieval buildings.” Starkville is, of course, Starkville, Mississippi, the home of Mississippi State University. I knew what John meant, as both are college towns surrounded by green pasture lands. But, Starkville with its religion … Continue reading Starkville with medieval buildings
I awaken to first light coming in through cracks in the blinds, the birds are singing their cheerful wake-up songs and I can hear the low cooing of doves. It must be around 6:30. Soon John will stir, then get up and make our coffee. Bleary-eyed, I pick my watch up from the nightstand to … Continue reading Scotland Notebook
Oban, Scotland, where we currently are, is on the Western coast of Scotland and is widely considered the gateway to the Hebrides islands. From our Airbnb window we see, in addition to a backdrop of two of the Hebrides islands, a steady stream of ferry boats going back and forth. Many people who visit take … Continue reading A fyne walk on Kerrera in the Scottish Hebrides
We arrived in Belgium last Thursday, sixteen years, almost to the day, from the time I moved here with the family for me to work here for a year. It’s an odd little country, I’ll concede to that. It’s famous for beer, chocolate, comic strips (with fascist overtones), Art Nouveau architecture, and waffles. A famous … Continue reading (Re)Visiting Belgium
We left Florence last Friday headed for a one-night stopover in Milan, before taking an early train to Paris. We hated to say good-bye to Italy, but we were going on the Paris! The city of light! How much more fun could our lives get? The Eiffel Tower, viewed from the Trocadero Arrivederci, Italy Our … Continue reading Living the dream?
We are leaving Tuscany tomorrow after nine days here – the longest time we have stayed in a single place. It’s been great to have a chance to settle into our Airbnb apartment and fall into the rhythms of being in a neighborhood. The apartment has been perfect for us: on a quiet street out … Continue reading La Dolce Vita – Highlights of Florence and Tuscany
Last week John and I travelled from Prague to Italy for the next segment of our adventure. We were headed toward the Cinque Terre on Italy’s northwestern coast. Many people haven’t yet heard of the Cinque Terre, even though the area has become a popular tourist destination, but most people recognize the iconic pictures of … Continue reading Slowing it down in the Cinque Terre
My first visit to Prague was in 2004. I was with my son, Chris, and my sister Mary Helen and we were visiting over Easter. At that time, Prague was just fifteen years past the Velvet Revolution and the city wore its new-found status as a tourist destination lightly. It was all fairy-tale castles and … Continue reading The Prague Blog
Vienna State Opera House The last time I was in Vienna, Tom Cruise was here making a “Mission Impossible” movie and my daughter, Mary, and I, along with hundreds of other onlookers, watched one evening as he ran (repeatedly) across the top of Staatsoper, the famous Vienna State Opera house, doing take after take of … Continue reading Vienna visit and our Vienna Top 10
We got up on a bright, cool, and breezy Orthodox Easter Sunday morning ready to make our way to the Bucharest train station for a 2:00 train to Vienna. Called the “Dacia Express,” and operated by Romanian Railways, this train takes 19 hours to make the journey and arrives a little after 8:00 in the … Continue reading Night Train to Vienna
You and Me, Odyssey 