It's interesting what we block out when we dream of or anticipate a place. We must ignore the great unspooled ribbon of mind-numbing highway. The ugly big-box stores. The cloud cover that renders a day as colorless as a lump of pizza dough. Sometimes I think we reserve those kinds of stringent observations for home: to criticize what we are used to and tired of.
Tag: writing
travel notebook: alone in italia, day two
Cinque Terre teems with tourists. Scattered about the rocks like camera-happy penguins, people are: sinking into squats for the photo angle showing their 'best side' crunching on fried things served in cones dripping gelato (and offering bites to their dogs) brandishing walking sticks like weapons, the hallmark of the serious hiker carrying hot cardboard boxes …
alone in italia: day one
I am in a BlaBlaCar, sitting snugly in the backseat behind two French ladies also on their way to visit Cinque Terre. I met them at a roundabout in Mandelieu–just south of Cannes and the 'world capital' of the mimosa flower. Sitting on a patch of sidewalk just out of traffic, I felt more like …
a vision in pink: the mediterranean villa fit for a baroness
We love to glamorize the wealthy and dead, as if fine clothes and cakes work to redeem suffering.
the last garden in france
Today's post is a little different. I'm sharing the essay I wrote for a World Nomads travel writing contest (effectively the contest of my dreams). The prize includes a fully-funded trip to Argentina and a workshop with NYT contributor Tim Neville. I wrote on the theme "Making a local connection." I never imagined gardening could …
magic in the details: on noticing
The point is, who is actually enriched by crossing items off a list? Travel isn't about changing pace at great speed. It's not about how many museum doors you manage to swing through.
la culture populaire for the couch potato: lessons in french tv
I can't stand advertisements. I don't like being told what to tell my doctor. I roll my eyes at deus ex machina plot lines and groan at laugh tracks. I am a TV cynic. It's nothing noble. It's just that I would really really really rather read. I am grateful that my parents encouraged the …
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