It doesn’t take much to amuse me. Plus, I’m retired. Spending the morning thinking about, taking pictures of, and now writing about my socks does not seem like a completely pitiful waste of time. I mean, it’s definitely a questionable use of my time, but not a complete waste since I’m entertaining myself and not rummaging around in the kitchen for a snack. That’s how … Continue reading Mysterious travel socks because, why not?
It’s interesting traveling to a foreign country where English is the primary language. You might assume that communication won’t be an issue, but the different accents and slang can at times make you wonder if you’re speaking the same language at all. Case in point, in October I traveled to Northern Ireland to meet my friend Bernadette. She was born in Northern Ireland but has … Continue reading Breda’s gaze
It’s as if my house knows I’m leaving the country for nearly two weeks. Why? Because things are going wrong. Very wrong. It started when my son Chris came over to help me clean out the basement a little over a week ago. I had seen mouse droppings and a tiny mouse carcass earlier this summer and without backup, I wasn’t about to shift the … Continue reading Murphy’s law for travel plans
First, the good news: I’m going to Ireland in October. Yay! I will be spending most of the trip as a guest in the home of my dear friend Bernadette’s sister, Breda. Breda’s home is in tiny Pigeon Top near the city of Omagh, which is about 70 miles or so west of Belfast. Bernadette, who lives on the Isle of Man, will fly … Continue reading Confessions of a picky palate
On Thursday mornings in the warmer months, visitors can step back in time to observe the Gouda Cheese Market as it would have appeared at its inception in 1395. Ginny and I did just that on our visit to the Netherlands last month – along with a boatload of other people happily milling around Gouda’s historic town square on a sunny May morning. I’m not … Continue reading It’s good to be in Gouda
Peach cobbler in Atlanta? Crab cakes in Baltimore? How about pizza in Naples, or sushi in Tokyo? High-minded folks may tell you that travel is not about the food. I love to travel. And I agree. There is so much more to travel than the different kinds of foods you can find around the world. But travel’s not not about the food, either. If you’re … Continue reading It’s not all about the food – part one
And waffles. Big honking Belgian waffles topped with strawberries and whipped cream. As you know, I am a House Hunters International junkie. I’m flying with my buddy Ginny to Brussels this weekend, so I was excited to find an episode in my cache of recorded shows about a young family searching for a home in Belgium’s capital city. (I automatically record every episode of this … Continue reading Dreaming of chocolate and cheese
Kate Mahar writes . . . 