And now for something completely different…
Nearly three years ago, my husband Gary noticed a small item in the paper announcing that an amphibious transport ship currently under construction in Pascagoula, MS, would be named after Portland, Oregon. … Continue reading
Pattern Recognition
My husband Gary suggests that it’s sheer vanity that drives my interest in representations of the goddess called Artemis by the Greeks and Diana by the Romans. I explain that … Continue reading
Headlong into history II
Other fascinating recovered fragments from Delphi: Portion of a frieze representing the gods who supported Troy: Ares, Aprodite, Artemis (my favorite, of course, since her Roman name is Diana), Apollo … Continue reading
Summer of Steam and Smoke
“Decide what the theme of your story is.” This excellent writing advice sometimes applies to life, too. Summer began with an impromptu trip to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, to talk … Continue reading
There is a tide in the affairs of men…
which reminds one to wake up and smell the coffee. As Gary wrote to his kids that afternoon: “This is sooo embarrassing! The adventure was a little too intense. “We … Continue reading
Senses of Places
We’re on the verge of another viaggio–this time to South America. It’s not our first trip to South America; we went from Ft. Lauderdale to Manaus, Brazil in November and … Continue reading
Istanbul
Patrick Leigh Fermor, remember him? The young Englishman who hiked from Rotterdam to what he, as student of history, preferred to call Constantinople. That has a certain ring to it–although I … Continue reading
Veliko Tarnovo, Plovdiv–read these names aloud
Yes, I am delinquent on my last two trip reports. There was more and more snow after we boarded the bus in Rousse and headed over the summit of the Balkan … Continue reading
On the Danube: Budapest to Rousse
We arrived in Budapest with time for a bus overview of Pest before lunch. I tried to get my camera ready when the guide said we would pass the Jewish synagogue. … Continue reading
Prelude to the Danube I: Salzburg
After our first cruise to the Caribbean in 2002, we almost didn’t take another–for a number of reasons. But Gary found one in 2006 with a terrific itinerary that began in Venice and ended … Continue reading
illuminate history 