Kitty and I adore an obscure British film from the 1940’s by Pressburger and Powell, I Know Where I’m Going. Wendy Hiller plays a snobbish gold-digger who in the introductory scene establishes the pettiness of her character. She describes her intended wedding to a rich industrialist to be held in a remote Scottish island, “away from… Continue reading All those people…
You Say You Want a Revolution…
It’s a rainy gray day. Windy, but the forecast promises scattered showers. We strike out for Brunnenmarkt. It’s Saturday, so this outdoor market promises lots of fresh produce action. It is crowded but with locals, not tourists. It is refreshing to not be surrounded by groups of tourists. I get that I am a tourist but I still recoil at the… Continue reading You Say You Want a Revolution…
Driven versus Settled
Travel experiences for us tend to unfold along the fault line between planning and spontaneity. I’m more of a planner than Kitty, and have a not-so-healthy drive to check off goals. I literally spend months planning, reading and researching, and approach travel as a limited opportunity to try to identify what I might value and… Continue reading Driven versus Settled
Was that a buck or a Capriole?
Poor Lorena did not sleep well. She woke up at 1:00 am and could not get back to sleep. When I awoke at 6 am she was furiously writing political essays and expressing envy at my sound night’s sleep. Jet lag is a beast. My fitbit total tells the whole story. We were up and out early and walked… Continue reading Was that a buck or a Capriole?
Be Your Jet Lag Best
Flying these days makes it almost impossible, in the inimitable words of our First Lady, to “be best.” If we can get by without major delays, missed connections or cancellations, we feel as though we’ve achieved a victory. Actually, if we can maintain civility and not devolve into fetal positions or temper tantrums, it’s a… Continue reading Be Your Jet Lag Best
Remembering Graz
“Bella Grazia!” That was a tourist campaign slogan when we were last in Graz in 1985. That year we spent 4 months traveling, got a 3 month Eurail pass and fulfilled credit for a German class at UNC Asheville following my professor Henry Stern’s wonderful itinerary through Germany, Austria and Switzerland. We always wanted to… Continue reading Remembering Graz
Reflections on Vienna
Kitty and I are less than two weeks away from 4 weeks of October travel in Austria and Hungary. We’ve been planning for months, eager to return to a German-speaking country. Originally we seized on Berlin, a favorite city, but found ourselves wanting some of that historical architecture we had come to love in Barcelona.… Continue reading Reflections on Vienna
Barcelona Reprieve
February 16, 2019 What a reprieve this day turned out to be! We hustle and get up early to clean and leave the apartment in Valencia by 6:30 am. Our train is at 7:20 to Barcelona. Originally our plane to Atlanta left at 1:00 out of Barcelona. It was cutting it tight to arrive via… Continue reading Barcelona Reprieve
Baroque Excess vs. Culinary Restraint
Last night we were so excited with our day trip to L’Albufera at midnight we enthusiastically set into planning our next outing for early the next morning. We had chosen a nearby town with hillside ruins, but then reconsidered adding an extra day trip when time here was so limited. Instead, we took time in… Continue reading Baroque Excess vs. Culinary Restraint
Last Day in Valencia
It’s our last day in Valencia. We are awakened by a text on my phone informing us that our flight from Amsterdam to Atlanta has been cancelled. We move into action and quickly rebook for Monday and communicate with our Asheville folks about the change of plans. We manage that before coffee. We buy more… Continue reading Last Day in Valencia
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