March 2006 Archive
Bergamo: A City of Surprises
Expect the unexpected. This is our mantra when we travel abroad. Lost luggage, misplaced reservations, poor directions, delays at the airportóall are possible, but so are unanticipated pleasures. It was just an overnight trip, a convenient stop en route to Malpensa Airport in Milano. We had booked one night in the Hotel Excelsior San Marco [...]
In Search of Lost Civilization: Tikal and El Mirador, Guatemala
Flores The nice smooth tarmaced road in Belize turned abruptly to a potholed rut (or was it a rutted pothole?) once across the border. Gone were the concrete houses set in gardens, replaced by crude wooden huts with bare earth floors inhabited by people eking out a subsistence life on land poorly suited to farming. [...]
Intertwined Tent Ropes in Munich
Camping Under an Elderberry Tree Tin Whistler Feeding Irish Crisp Sandwiches to the Mascot My tent was strategically placed on high ground under an elderberry tree; the superior location at such a populated campsite was due to my length of residence. A small vase of flowers sat inside on a dairy crate of clothes. [...]
The Passeggiata in Siena: Taking a Walk on the Slow Side
Siena piazza on a summer night. Photo by Gary Cattell. When in Italy, we often avoid the big cities and search instead for old-world italia, where customs and rituals still create the framework of daily living. One of these traditions is the passeggiata, a slow walk before supper, where friends and relatives stroll arm-in-arm through [...]
