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Riyadh: Ritz Carlton

ancient, transplanted olive trees! Latte with cardamom. March 2017 you say prison, I say five-star hotel On one of my trips to Riyadh,...

Zimbabwe: Victoria Falls

Zambian side Zimbabwean side Whitewater rafting. July 1996 When we were planning our trip to Southern Africa, friends who had traveled...

Slovakia: Žilina

Train Station Town Square. March 2019 almost, but not quite Bratislava is in the extreme western corner of Slovakia which means that...

USA: Starbucks, Seattle

Original Starbucks near Pike Place Market. October 2011 coffee ground zero I grew up in a family that did not drink coffee. Mom was a...

Istanbul: Cistern of Theodosius

August 2020 better than I remembered On my first trip to Istanbul with Brian in 1991 [see: Istanbul to Kushinagar (part I)], one of the...

Portugal: Francesinha

Porto. July 2016 the little Frenchie Some cities have a food that is de rigueur - a cheesesteak sandwich in Philadelphia, champon in...

Mexico: making tequila

Roasted agave heart. Distillation. October 2011 We were on a cruise to Cabo and Puerto Vallarta from San Diego. As part of the shore...

Bahrain: Muharraq

Old, unrenovated building Restored building with wind tower. March 2015 My few days in Bahrain were very full even though the tiny...

Oman: Royal Opera House, Muscat

Photobombed. March 2015. the taxi driver who fell in love with me Even though Oman was great, it was like Saudi Arabia in that it had...

Belgium: a study in contrasts

Why Belgium? My colleague in Saudi, WBT, had done a yoga retreat in Ghent the summer before and raved about the city. Additionally I...

Puerto Rico: Old San Juan

La Rogativa. January 1982 May 2010 May 2010 In My Old San Juan - Noel Estrada (Trans.) In my old San Juan how many dreams I forge in my...

New Zealand: Mt Cook

January 1993 names in high places On the NZ vacation after meeting MAP on the West Coast riding the Kiwi Experience bus [see: Lake...

Lalakal: Tea Plantation

March 2014 A strange legacy Tea is from China and the Chinese had a stranglehold on the world market for centuries. The British found...

The Netherlands: Middelburg

City Hall Fish and Chips. August 2016 A wealthy dot One of the provinces of the Netherlands is Zeeland, a couple of fingers of land...

China: a return to Hong Kong (2008)

Harbor ha ha ha ha random temple somewhere in Hong Kong. December 2008 Back to Hong Kong When I lived in Japan and traveled regionally,...

Morocco: Jewish Cemetery, Meknes

December 2019 burial rituals Morocco had a vibrant Jewish community for centuries. The Jews were expelled from Spain alongside Muslims...

Czech Republic: Karlovy Vary

July 2019 Karlsbad After the fall of the Iron Curtain there were two places in then Czechoslovakia I wanted to visit - Pilsen and...

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Samsara

Observations of Life

"A stone with no moss" has been my motto.  My experiences and commentary from travels both near and far.  No hate, unfiltered.

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