Travelling with a light heart!
When you travel, finding the right words to communicate can be a struggle. It may be a matter of simple politeness, ordering the right ingredients for your pizza, knowing the difference between trousers and pants, or even how to find emergency services.
A fortuitously placed Foster’s Freeze leads to a desert discovery and a dip into WWII.
Venice, Italy On my first visit to Venice I was with a tour group for part of the time. One of the things they organized was a glassblowing demonstration, since nearby Murano is so famous for glassworks. I can’t swear to it, but I think anyone can walk into Dogi’s Murano Art and see the …
From the archives – and freshly updated! – comes a little piece comparing the 3 countries in which I've lived. Seemed fitting in light of the fact that we are soon leaving Ireland to head back to Italy for a while. WARNING: the word "awesome" is used to excess. I have been meaning to …
California, USA / Parris Island, SC, USA In Part 1: The Background, I talked about leaving my amazingly cool job in the visual effects industry and joining the Marine Corps. Many of the reasons for the decision were explained, although it’s impossible to articulate them all. Here, I’ll share the story about getting ready for …
Marin County, CA, USA / Parris Island, SC, USA Part 1: The Background About 10 years ago I left my amazingly cool job in the visual effects industry and joined the Marine Corps. Some people think I was nuts. There were many reasons for going, however, not the least of which is that I like …
Redwood forest, California, USA We woke up in our tent among the redwoods, continued south toward San Francisco, and stopped to see a few quintessentally American attractions. Dario's first visit to the US simply had to include a visit to something silly and uniquely American! Since we would not be passing through the midwest on …
Canyon de Chelly, AZ, USA Today's post is by Vera Marie Badertscher (pictures by Charnell Havens) and should probably have been titled something like "Amazing Navajo Art and Tradition" or "The Natural Beauty of the American Southwest," but I could not pass up the opportunity to be silly. You see, the very first photo is …
New York, USA Christine sent me this cute piece about shopping in New York city. As I have not yet been to the Big Apple — shocking, I know! — I find stories like this to be fascinating! Some day I, too, would like to go shopping (or at least pretend shopping) in New York …
Showing a friend pictures of Whidbey Island, Washington, where I lived before moving to Europe, got me feeling a little nostalgic, as Whidbey is just a gorgeous, gorgeous place. I am really glad I had a chance to show Dario this little corner of the US during our whirlwind trip last August! The weather …
Napa, USA When Dario and were in Napa visiting Emily and Charlotte, we stopped at the Robert Sinskey Vineyards for some wine tasting. The tasting was pretty overpriced, frankly, and there was only 1 wine — the 2008 Pinot Gris — that we all really liked. I will say that although we tried several other …
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park, California, USA It's rather Burl-esque, wouldn't you say? Get it, get it? Wow, tough crowd. How has nature been amusing you lately?
8 Aug. 2010 Napa, CA, USA A quick day trip for winetasting and visiting friends! We stayed with my friend, Charlotte, in Marin County and dragged her along when we went to visit Emily up in Napa. Dario and I know Emily from the time she was living and Couchsurfing in Naples. It was …