Northern Thailand. There is something haunting in the mist covered mountains and emerald rice fields surrounding the city. Something that I connect to. A reverence for the spirits of trees and nature. Of something beyond our earthly pursuits. A…
Day 754 – Istanbul, Turkey – Going native in Kadıköy on the Asian side.
December 4, 2021
It is impossible for me to walk through the streets of Istanbul and not ponder chaos theory and particle swarm dynamics as a system of organization. The symphonic madness. The rivers of kinetic energy. The ancient flow. When I…
Day 748 – Santiago de Compostela, Spain – The end of the Camino.
November 6, 2021
The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain was believed to house the remains of St. John the apostle and in the 10th century became one of the three great pilgrimage sites of the Catholic church (Rome and Jerusalem…
Day 731 – Porto, Portugal – There’s no place like Porto
October 31, 2021
Porto. I’ve been here before. The once familiar caress of an old lover. The ghostly remembrances of younger explorations. Embarrassingly inexperienced. Ridiculous notions of what to do. Fears. Words left unsaid. A gnawing regret for not doing things right. And…
Antiqvvm – October 13, 2021 (Porto, Portugal)
October 15, 2021
Antiqvvm with its one Michelin star is the creation of Chef Vitor Matos, raised in Portugal and trained in Switzerland. He has received many awards for his cooking but I haven’t been able to find much about him personally…
Day 701 – Vienna, Austria – Beethoven, Marie Antoinette, and Rococo
September 16, 2021
I didn’t know what to expect from Vienna. One of my favorite movies, Before Sunrise, paints a painfully romantic version of the city that I didn’t hope to be a true experience. But I have to say, the place is…
Day 687 – Krakow, Poland
September 9, 2021
I had no idea what to expect in Krakow. My polish food knowledge comes mostly from Chicago and I haven’t had many reports from fellow travelers. I came with an open mind, and what I found was a vibrant,…
Day 684 – Northern Ireland – Belfast and the Giant’s Causeway
September 4, 2021
Understanding Northern Ireland is in many ways understanding Ireland. In fact, the existence of Northern Ireland is a story that dates back before 1601 and you need at least a passing understanding of that history to understand what happened…
Day 682 – Cork, Ireland – Kissing the Blarney Stone
September 1, 2021
We only stayed in Cork for one full day and most of that time we spent in Blarney visiting the castle but we had a couple of nights walking around and enjoying the town. Cork was quite a bit…
Day 680 – Portmagee, Ireland – So close to Skellig Michael yet so far away
August 28, 2021
When we first arrived in Ireland we were both excited to visit Skellig Michael, the island in the extreme southwest of Ireland used in the new Star Wars trilogy where Luke Skywalker was hiding. But movie location aside, it’s…