Romania was one big question mark when I first went, but after a couple months exploring the country, a clear chain of top notch attractions populated my mental map. Add in an incomparable… Continue reading
JFK pissed me off. The lack of important signage would have been embarrassing in any international airport, and I was flabbergasted that you have to enter the US in order to change flights.… Continue reading
The healing water has been famous for 1400 years and the buildings are relics of the 20th century’s greatest geopolitical tension, but the history I felt most keenly in Tskaltubo happened in 1993.… Continue reading
Memory was fading from Tskaltubo’s long hallways and grand rooms, trapped echoes of grand aspirations from the other side of a political fight but the same side of our human struggle to find… Continue reading
As with all proper legends, Tskaltubo’s story begins with a shepherd. Or a chieftain. And undoubtedly somebody tells it as a virgin who first found the miraculous healing hot springs in what is… Continue reading
After weeks in Vietnam, talking too much with other tourists, I jumped at the invitation to join a local for dinner. I was the only identifiably foreign face in the crowd gathered around… Continue reading
I want to thank everyone who voted on my Romanian food post, first because it’s always nice to hear from folks in this weirdly isolating place of e-connection, but also because the top… Continue reading
My new year’s tradition of looking at the past year for positive news felt strained this time, with democracy and liberty under fire while war, intolerance, and greed dance with the cruelties and… Continue reading
Hello and merry Christmas my friends! I hope this finds you warm and cozy, as this year’s Once in a Lifetime Storm battles our coats and window panes, making America’s dogs wish they… Continue reading
The only language he and I shared was smiling. And food. So we did a lot with those. The backyard table was piled with freshly baked bread, homegrown vegetables harvested minutes ago, eggs… Continue reading
When my grandfather talked about wringing the neck of a chicken, we listened with moderate horror and more-than-moderate fascination. I was particularly confounded and titillated by his gesture of grabbing it by the… Continue reading
