So, what do you do when you find yourself someplace unfamiliar? What else -- you get lost. Perhaps that's the point of vacations.

AMERICAN IN ROMA
It had been two years since visiting my adopted citta. It was a time of lost luggage, learning more about my neighborhood, and the tale of barefeet -- i piedi nudi.

ALL-SOLES DAY
I Survived the Transit Strike of 2005.
33,000 bus and subway workers walked. So, too, did I.
New York City definitely looks different when experienced on foot.

THOSE DANISH LINENS
The saga of my missing bed linens, or how I grew to hate the United States Post Office. A soft and dreamy tale, with a good ending.

A big BIG DAY AT THE FAIR
The Great Minnesota Get-Together.
The place where you can count on the biggest, the grandest, the most food-on-the-stickest.

GOD DAG FROM HANS-LAND
A visit to the land of Hans Christian Andersen gave me a chance to ponder the meaning of one of his famous phrases: “to travel is to live.”

HOME. HOME. BACK FROM ROME.
You know it's a good vacation when you have time to relax, eat what you want, and see the sights you desire. Yet leaving more for when you return.

MANIFESTAZIONE AND OTHER DIVERSIONS
A massive anti-war demonstration fills Rome on a week when I encountered a gypsy and two amusing Roman women. Plus, visited a shopping mall from the year 112 AD.

BACK IN LA BELLÀ CITTÀ
Once again answering the call of that layered and fascinating ancient city, I return to Rome for more adventures of Ruling Woman, including a sidetrip to Assisi.

9/11: TWO YEARS LATER
On the anniversary of the attack on America, I connect to one of its victims, I recall my experience from 2001, and I share my observations of the Seattle kids who visited Ground Zero.

DISPATCH FROM KØBENHAVN
Copenhagen, unlike Rome, was not easy to embrace. It is a lovely city. Lovely, indeed. But, it did not wrap its arms around me. My view was one of detached observer.

IN THE MOMENT
I watched a child romp through his yard, as if in a jungle. Hands in a fountain. Dirt in a pail. Little feet past a plant his own size. In the moment without even knowing it.

THIS IS SPRINGTIME?
A snow storm in April -- along with some serious flooding, some silly observations, and the death of a network correspondent. Oh, and the "end" of the war.

A MOMENT OF PEACE
Living in New York City at wartime. Observations, thoughts, opinions, tour guiding. And, a moment of peace with a high school choir.

LIVING AS A ROMAN
Learning the ins and outs of being an albeit temporary resident of the Eternal City. Losing, and finding myself. Oh, and talking a little bit o' trash.

ESPRESS YOURSELF
In my first full week back in Italy, it was a time of searching for the right words to describe the smells, sounds and la guerra while in Rome.

I MIEI AMICI ITALIANI
Reflections only on the first day of my return to Rome. Continually moving from piazza to piazza, in a haze of jetlag, I felt as if I was among old friends.

BLIZZARD OF THE CENTURY
The city was brought to its knees with 19.8 inches of snow. One of four top snowfalls in Central Park history. It was a day of beauty. And, uncharacteristic silence.

ONE YEAR LATER
A trip to Rome motivates a renewal for Ruling Woman. It has been a year (and some) since an update. Time to refresh those dispatches.

FIRST WEEK BACK
A difficult, yet mundane return to the States, marked by dialogue, intense fears and the joys of being alive.
Come to think of it, not that different from Rome.
                                                                                    Return to top