It’s Friday night. I am home alone and I am bored. Sitting still is not easy for me. I have to work at it. Even a good book requires stops and starts before I can slow myself down. I stop reading to check email or to go to the potraviny (convenience store) downstairs. Eventually the turning of pages becomes all the motion I need and I settle into the comfort of stillness. But, it ain’t easy. My plans to stay in on Friday nights never work out. … [Read more...]
My Name is Ali
“My name is Ali. I’m from Iran.” My mind went blank. What did I know about Iran? I tried to think of something. It’s a big country in the Middle East and my country, America, isn’t too keen on Iran. Persian carpets? The moment I was thinking, I looked around at my surroundings. A dozen of red Chinese lanterns were lit brightly and lined both sides of the street. Across from me at a mamak, Indian men were pulling roti dough around and around in … [Read more...]
Accidentally falling in love with the California Zephyr
I haven’t always been enamored with trains. In my past travels, I had been on several rails both in the United States on the east coast and also through small parts of Europe. Those times however, I was too young and naive to appreciate the significance and beauty of a well-placed rail. Now, more than three months into my newly nomadic lifestyle and about 10 years since my last rail adventure overseas, trains have become a larger and more … [Read more...]
What you’re missing while looking for the Big Five
When animal spotting on safari, people tend to get obsessed with the Big Five game, as though they matter above all else. I’m not going to stand here and talk down the beauty of the lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhinoceros, but I will say our admiration for the Big Five can distract us from the other equally wondrous creatures in our midst. So let’s imagine you’re on a luxury African safari with the view to collecting all five of the … [Read more...]
Street Angel
Sighing with tired relief, we plopped our suitcases into the dusty, grey earth – we had arrived! The journey to Florence took far longer than we had anticipated and weariness dragged through our bodies like a ball and chain around an ankle. Our train started to pull off, rattling and screeching away from the station as we soaked in the new surroundings in the cool night air. I squinted at some small colourful objects in the distance and … [Read more...]
Lets do it! Enjoying Bermuda
We descended quickly through the clouds breaking out of the sky to views of gorgeous aquamarine waters and darker beds of corral below us. This is Bermuda - a tiny 21 mile long tiny island in the general shape of a fish hook, situated all by itself in the North Atlantic. With a geographical location of 32 degrees and being among the gulf stream the island benefits from rather mild temperatures in the winter - and warm moderate temperatures in the … [Read more...]
5 Great Things to Do at Your French Campsite
Family holidays to French campsites have been popular for a long time now but do you know just how much is on offer these days? Go Swimming One of the big attractions of the best campsites is the swimming pool. In fact, in some places you will find a number of pools as well as waterslides on offer. These are terrific for enjoying some family fun splashing around and you might find that it takes you quite a bit of effort to drag the rest of … [Read more...]
Eureka Springs Revisited
In early November, I spent two serendipitous days in the tiny resort town of Eureka Springs, located in the Ozarks, at the edge of Arkansas. I had accepted an invitation from a friend in the American Midwest to join her on her ranch in Kansas, and she was taking me on a road trip. Since we would be riding through Missouri, I asked if I might see something connected with Mark Twain. “Hannibal is on the other side of the state.” I was mildly … [Read more...]
An Unfinished Dream
Every Wednesday evening between March and October, Charles Dickens visits the house in which he made an early London home. He must have great affection for it. “Oliver Twist” was born here; so were his two eldest daughters...At 7:30, the lights in the basement library are dimmed, and a long-haired actor in full Victorian dress strides through the open door, marches towards a burgundy-coloured velvet armchair, and regales his “guests,” their … [Read more...]
Our Family Glory in the Holiday Attributes of Punta Cana
Thinking of the sun and palm trees, one snowy and stormy weekend in Toronto, I decided to take my daughter Muna, along my grandson Mazin, and his wife Margarita, as a belated honeymoon gift, to the Dominican Republic. Now as we explored the huge Bahia Principe resort complex in Punta Cana, the Republic's resort par excellence, we were living our dream. As we walked the white sandy beach, Mazin remarked, "A great trip! I love your … [Read more...]
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