Category Archive: traveling

“I” is for Impressive, I am for Istanbul.

I’m not sure when the last time was that a city struck me so quickly, so strongly, so impressively as Istanbul has done. We’ve only been here two days, but it is rapidly… Continue reading

It’s all ending; it’s all beginning.

On the night I left for Nicaragua, a year and a week ago exactly, I took a moment on the drive to the airport to take my hands off the wheel (the road… Continue reading

Walking in the world, Brussels, Belgium.

They spoke Dutch when I got on the train and French when I got off, though the ads were always English.   Brussels North Station is next to the Red Light District and… Continue reading

Life is one big game of Super Mario Brothers

My brother-in-law pointed it out. We were talking about how to drive a hybrid car in the most efficient way possible, and noting that even though our efforts didn’t make much of a… Continue reading

Even being mauled by a wild animal was…familiar.

Back in Western Europe, the Low Countries, my second home. It felt good to be back, a little bizarre, and bizarrely familiar. Dutch felt like a familiar game, more familiar to me than… Continue reading

Anticipation, back hair, and falafel in Amsterdam

It was a few degrees below zero in Toronto but I felt fine, and as long as I didn’t spend too much time in the shade I enjoyed my walks. It was a… Continue reading

The sleepy wandering of a stoned zombie just below the Arctic Circle

If a plane leaves Toronto at 8:10 PM for a 5 hour flight to Reykjavik, what time does it arrive? If you said 6:25 AM, you’re either extremely aware of time zones and… Continue reading

Getting catty under the Northern Lights

Where am I? Am I on a bus? Why is someone on a PA system telling me stuff about the Northern Lights? Maybe a midnight Northern Lights tour was not the best choice… Continue reading

Niagara Falls: Eminem v your grandmother in the zombie apocalypse

Something went wrong in Niagara Falls. It’s a place utterly defined by a piece of stunning natural beauty, artwork of the gods, yet is framed by the flabby vultures of casinos, savory as… Continue reading

Did you know Toronto is now bigger than Chicago?

Hello from Toronto! And also, hello from a hostel common room, where we are watching Gone in 60 Seconds, which I am hereby citing as the reason why any of the following sentences… Continue reading