Liguria, April 2009 Mikel and I spent two glorious weeks in Liguria in April 2009. We rented an apartment in the old city center of Genoa, amongst the old medieval and Renaissance buildings that define the old port. [No! Wait! My sister asked me if I were really tired when I wrote that sentence, with the use of the word "old" three times. What I think was really going on was that I was still thinking in...
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Pimenton de la Vera Spain’s west central Extremadura region abuts the Portugese border, but should not be confused with the Estremadura region of west central Portugal on the coast. Consisting of the two provinces of Badajoz and Caceres, with Merida as its capital, the Spanish region is known for wine, cheese, olive oil, ham, cherries, honey, and, perhaps most famously, for its red peppers, specifically, Capsicum annum...
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When in Romein which I reconstruct a trip there from my journal and photos The Pantheon. The Forum. Borromini, Bernini, and Michelangelo. The Piazza del Popolo. The Colosseum. The Vatican. The Caesars. Western Civilization. Fellini. Aqueducts, arches, and concrete. Valentino. La Dolce Vita. It seems unbelievable to me that I have only spent time in Rome twice, especially considering how much I love the city. Late in 2004, when Mikel...
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Go to January 2008 to read about Barbados. These green monkeys, which were originally brought from Africa in the 17th Century, now number some 10,000 on the island and appear late in the afternoon and in the mornings. These were at our friend David’s estate, in the gully just beyond the infinity...
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Ireland, Part II: Again in August I went to the Bonny Emerald Isle with Mikel and our friends Ted and Clay, South Carolinians all. This time we rented a farmhouse in the center of County Tipperary, pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but actually not far from anywhere. Ireland is, after all, hardly bigger than South Carolina, barely 200 miles across at its widest point.We took turns planning day trips out from the house, with a cooler on...
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