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Behold, my friends, the spring is come;
the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun,
and we shall soon see the results of their love!
~ Sitting Bull
Sproi-oi-oi-oi-oing!
By Irish reckoning, Spring begins on the first of February. Having grown up in Southern California, it took me a while to get my head around the idea of 4 separate seasons. (And no, it was not just sunshine all the time; it was more like "deathly hot / wildfire" season vs. "downpour / mudslide" season.) After moving to Washington state, I finally started to get a sense of how solstices and equinoxes marked separate parts of the yearly cycle. Discovering that Ireland, where a lot of this pagan-ish, solstice-y stuff was said to originate, was on a different schedule is something to which I am still adjusting.
Continue reading “Ireland: Signs of Spring” →
How did it get so late so soon?
Its night before its afternoon.
December is here before its June.
My goodness how the time has flewn.
How did it get so late so soon?
~ Dr. Seuss
I loooove the Louvre!
Paris in June is warm, humid, and full of enough wonders to keep a visitor occupied for a lifetime. Add nighttime to the mix and you get sultry (thank you Throw Momma from the Train) with a hint of mischief. And perhaps some Dr. Seuss.
Continue reading “The Louvre at Night” →
Our greatest glory is not in never falling,
but in rising every time we fall.
~ Confucius
If you squint, you can see a wee person near the entrance.
The sentiment expressed in the Confucius quote comes in many forms. Bits about getting back on the horse or failing only when you do not get back up again have been spouted for centuries. So what's this have to do with Abu Simbel or me? Why thank you for asking!
You may have noticed that recently I've not been traveling as much as I'd like. I've also mentioned feeling hurt and rage over betrayal. And my posts are not about Italy or my Italian family. Well, they aren't my family anymore.
Continue reading “Abu Simbel as metaphor for life” →
Those who wish to pet and baby wild animals “love” them.
But those who respect their natures
and wish to let them live normal lives, love them more.
~ Edwin Way Teale
Great postcard about friendship from a great friend.
Not to get too dramatic, but sometimes making a differences makes it all worth it. You see, like many travel bloggers, I got into this because I was traveling far from home and family. I started putting photos online as a way to keep in touch. Although I’m not traveling as much as I’d like right now, I am still living as an expat, which teaches its own kinds of lessons about differences and culture.
I’ve met, either virtually or in person, many travel bloggers and am impressed with how many of them are consciously making an effort to get the word out about responsible tourism. My online friend, Diana, of d travels ’round, has been working hard to educate people about the horrors of elephant torture in Thailand for some time. Among other things, she wrote a piece for World Nomads explaining why elephant riding should be removed from your bucket list. It’s hard to believe that all the cute football-playing, painting, trekking elephants – even those trained to beg on the streets – have been through so much suffering, but it’s true.
Continue reading “Postcard from the End of the World” →
"Food, like a loving touch or a glimpse of divine power,
has that ability to comfort."
~ Norman Kolpas
I think "frijoles" should be renamed "free-holies", because they taste like divinity!
The last several months have been rather trying, to say the least. Fortunately, I have incredible friends, both here in Ireland and online. They have given me hugs, offered words of encouragement, lent a patient ear, bought me groceries, and one even recently paid for a ticket so that I could attend the World Travel Market in London next month. Incredible!
I have a friend with whom I frequently make all kinds of facetious plans. They sound good on paper, but we both smirk a little when we make our proclamations. "One day we're going to go whale watching!" we say. "Yeah, and when are we going to visit that little museum down in the park? I always get there when it's closed." "We need to make Mexican food one of these nights, too!" …and several other things that seem like a good idea at the time. Still, there was one day last week that I suspected would be particularly trying, so I contacted her in advance.
"You know that tortilla press you never use…?"
Continue reading “Mexican food is comfort food” →
To get to know a country, you must have direct contact with the earth.
It’s futile to gaze at the world through a car window.
- Albert Einstein
Looks like good stew ingredients – the soup souq?
Photos of lusciously arranged market wares are almost cheating, blog-wise. I mean the layouts are designed to be beautiful and tempting! It's nearly inescapable, the magnetism of such images, and I am not immune. But occasionally something a little different is nice.
Continue reading “Quote: To get to know a country…” →
To get away from one’s working environment is,
in a sense, to get away from one’s self;
and this is often the chief advantage of travel and change.
~ Charles Horton Cooley
Watching the sunset from atop a dune in the Moroccan Sahara.
My friend, Rachid, took this photo when we were out camping in Erg Chebbi. One of the great worries of our companions, Ella and Barbara, when dealing with our unruly taxi driver was that they would miss the sunset. They were only staying for one night, so if they missed it, that was it. As you can see from the above photo, we made it in time for them to climb the huge dune (so much bigger than it's possible to capture in a photo) next to our camp and drink in the glory.
Continue reading “Quote: To get away from one’s working environment…” →
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