meanderings, wonderment, and observations

  • New Adventure

    New Adventure

    Time to pack the bags and experience something new. I have had the good fortune and, yes, the honor, to have been included with a dozen other journalists to travel to Germany, and learn about that country, its people, its Identity. A perfect opportunity — I have spent a few days in that city (in…

  • Ah, Rome.  A Roma.

    Ah, Rome. A Roma.

    Ah, Rome. In Rome. One would not expect Rome, being centuries old, to change that much.  But, this visitor can certainly look at the Eternal City with fresh eyes. I see two styles of travellers. Those who explore new cities every time they set out, and those who return to the place(s) they love. That…

  • City of Water

    City of Water

      How did the chicken cross the road in Venice? By riding on a little commuter boat called a vaporetto. A commuter’s gondola: a traghetto, like this one. A water taxi. Or, a gondola. After awhile I stopped taking pictures of the things they transport on boats in Venice: commuters, tourists, garbage, police and firemen, furniture, water and…

  • Istanbul Bites & Pieces

    Istanbul Bites & Pieces

    BAZAAR NEGOTIATING   I’ve never been one for shopping. My New York friends laugh at me because I shop retail. Sales shopping is definitely not my thing. And, forget the hondle. Until Istanbul. I figured the nearly six-century-old Grand Bazaar was the best place to practice. The guidebooks say negotiating is not so prevalent anymore,…

  • Not Constantinople

    Not Constantinople

    A dear friend decided he wanted to spend his 65th birthday with 24 of his closest friends.  We’re not talking ice cream cake and candles here: we celebrated in Istanbul. I understand now why they call those Sufi mystics Whirling Dervishes. My head was whirling after just one week in Turkey — that mad, exotic,…

  • Winter Wondering-Land

    Winter Wondering-Land

    The Mohonk Mountain House invites you to enjoy the icy solitude of frozen trails traversed only with snow shoes and skis.  The sun startingly clear and nighttime silent. The Mohonk Mountain House outside of New Paltz, New York is one of my favorite getaway destinations. It is a resort built on Quaker principles of quiet…

  • Musings on Getting Lost

    Musings on Getting Lost

    Getting lost is a sore subject with me. I do it easily and often. It causes me anxiety.  So, what do you do when you find yourself someplace unfamiliar? What else — you get lost. There is this chocolate shop in Rome that I adore. It’s called Moriondo & Gariglio. I try to visit it every…

  • American in Roma

    American in Roma

      Having missed my annual trek to Italy in ’05, I gave myself two full weeks this year for much needed R&R in my adopted città.  So many missions: study, shop, mangia bene and explore my neighborhood. My first day in Rome, I wandered from my apartment near the Colosseum to explore another ancient site: the Roman Forum.…

  • All-Soles Day

    All-Soles Day

    On Tuesday, the 20th of December 2005, I became one of millions who had to get to work without my trusted subway. For me, that meant walking.  New York City definitely looks different when experienced on foot. I already had my walking shoes. New Balance. Black. Orthopedic looking, yes, but broken in. I set out for…

  • Il Mio Appartamento

    Il Mio Appartamento

    Some very quick impressions about my little apartment — il mio appartamento piccolo. Things will be different, not because this is another time — but another neighborhood. I am staying in a tiny little apartment. Full of beams and slanted ceilings. Most of my attention has been focused on navigating my head around those beams, a…

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