Today, I have something a little different than usual for you, and it stars my oldest nephew! His nickname is G Fox (Fox is our shared middle name) or sometimes just G for short. So that’s what I’ll call him here. I’m a VERY proud aunt to my sister’s four kids (7, 4 1/2, 3, and…
Europe
The Zen of Norway’s Northern Lights
I’m back in San Francisco after a fun-filled, cold trip to Scandinavia. I had grand hopes of writing while I was traveling, but there always seemed to be too many things to do, and too little time in which to do them. So I’m working on a few new posts which will be coming soon!…
I’m in Scandinavia!
I left a couple of days ago for a 10 days of traveling through Scandinavia. It’s kind of a homecoming since I studied abroad in Copenhagen during the fall semester of my junior year in college, and this is my first trip back. I’m starting off in Copenhagen, where I am right now. The picture above…
Truffle Troubles in Southwest France
January isn’t necessarily an ideal time to travel to Europe. All the holiday lights have come down, and it’s still pretty darn cold, even in most of southern Europe. I can still think of one reason that would quickly convince me to board a plane (and buy a warmer coat!) in January — truffle season…
How the Nazis Plundered Champagne & Moët During WWII
If you tour Moët & Chandon’s caves today, as I did during a recent day trip from Paris, you’ll learn a little bit about the famed champagne house’s history. They will tell you an official version of the history that’s heavy on the details of wine production, but super light on the people and events. What…
Tourists’ Locks of Love in Paris
On a dreary May morning during a recent trip to Paris, I made my way across the Pont des Arts enroute to the Jardin des Tuileries and ultimately the Orangerie for my first viewing of Monet’s famous lilies in all their glory. Somehow I’d missed them on previous trips to Paris, and I wasn’t going to…
Garish Mobsters Graves in Yekaterinburg
I’ve been following the work of Russian journalist and activist Masha Gessen after listening to an interview with her on NPR about her recently released biography of Vladimir Putin, The Man Without a Face on a road trip to Oklahoma City (from Dallas, not San Francisco). Even though I was half a world away from Russia, I still…
Both Gorgeous & Gruesome in Sicily
Juxtaposed: There’s always more to a place than the stereotypes we’ve heard before arriving or what easily meets the eye… In this case, Sicily’s gruesome history has probably overshadowed the beauty of this part of Italy. Sicily has become synonymous with organized crime, specifically as the home to the Sicilian Mafia (called the Cosa Nostra). But,…
A Sandwich and an Assassination in Sarajevo
What does a sandwich have to do with an assassination? How much do you know about the assassination brought on the beginning of WWI? I can’t say I remembered much about the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria beyond that, other than that it took place in Sarajevo, Bosnia… Until I began snooping around in the…
This Wall Will Fall in Berlin
Reagen’s famous speech at the Bradenburg Gate was on June 12, 1987. 25 years ago today. Below is an excerpt from an op-ed published yesterday in the NY Times, Reagan at the Wall, by Ted Wimer, about the speech: In a way, it was a no-brainer. No one had ever liked the wall, since its construction in 1961. But…
