A Medieval jewel set where three countries meet, Basel, Switzerland is a city that resonates with history yet looks forward with an air of confidence. It is a place where borders meet and can be easily crossed. Tucked into a crook of the Rhine River at a point where...
I only wish it was that simple. It would be great to slap a “gone fishing” sign on my front door and hightail it to SFO. But preparing to live and write in Basel Switzerland for six weeks is like training to run a marathon. So much to do. My stress is stressing me...
“Write your mind!” This exhortation originated with Allen Ginsberg and came to me via one of my favorite poets Frank X Gaspar (Late Rapturous, Night of a Thousand Blossoms). Gaspar speaks of his own need for encouragement, and his realization that Ginsberg was right –...
I get to know a city with my taste buds. So the Fitz and Follwell tour “Flavors of Montreal” spoke to me. F & F also offers bicycle tours - they are a bicycle shop - but I wanted a slower pace and a chance to sample some classic Montreal foods. Our guide,...
St. Viateur bagels are a Montreal institution. When Montreal was just a gleam in my eye and my plans still vague, a friend who grew up here was already telling me about "the best bagels in the world." Julia Scott told me I had to go to St. Viateur to sample the...
If you are anything like me (an uniformed American) you might not have realized that Montreal is actually named after a mountain, Mont Royal. Said mountain is in a beautiful park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (1822 - 1903), the same landscape architecture genius...
When I began the Travels with Mohammed blog, I called it a "blovy," a combination blog and love story. As our journey began, we were over the moon with excitement, our itinerary a list of beautiful adventures free of the constraints of reality. If you...
The New York Times blog “Well,” reports the improbable journey of a lost cat named Holly from Daytona Beach – where she ran away from her owner’s RV – back to her old neighborhood in West Palm Beach. She traveled 200 miles in two months. Holly was found about a mile...