Qatar: Doha
Doha. March 2015 I wasn't even supposed to visit Qatar. I had a whole trip planned to Bangladesh, but there was political unrest and my...
Vienna: Art History Museum
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. April 2019 What a strangely translated name into English, but in German it must sound less didactic and more "usual". This museum and its twin across the plaza (Museum of Natural History) were built in the waning years of the Hapsburg Empire. Ground was broken in 1871 and it was completed 20 years later. The word luxe does not even begin to describe this art museum. It may be one of the finest purpose-built art museums ever made - o
Spain: Antequera
Alcazaba, Antequera, Spain. January 2018 The Heart of Andalucia Even southern Spain in January is cold, and Antequera is not on the...
King Khalid University
King Khalid University, Abha. October 2013 [from FB post: December 7, 2013] Yesterday I went to the "new KKU" campus. First of all, it...
Vienna: Albertina Museum
Albertina Museum, Vienna, Austria April 2019 One surprise discovery on my mostly rainy Vienna holiday was the small Albertina Museum. ...
Australia: Byron Bay
Cape Byron, New South Wales, Australia April 2006 On the Brisbane trip to Australia, one of the highlights of that journey was to be...
Italy: Alassio
Spotti Cafe, Alassio. February 2019 It was late February on the Ligurian coast so I really couldn't hope for balmy weather. Based in...
Bahrain: Amwaj Island
Amwaj Island, Bahrain. March 2015 Final hours in Bahrain I started my short time in Bahrain with my Saudi friends from Abha, but ended...
Malaysia: Batang Ai
Longhouse, Batang Ai, Sarawak, Malaysia. February 1997 Headhunters!!! On the Big Borneo Adventure we ended up at a Hilton property in...
Saudi Arabia: holidays
Abha from Nahran Mountain. December 24, 2013 [from FB post: May 12, 2014] I don't know what to make of Saudi Arabia in terms of...
Morocco: Voyageurs Station, Casablanca
High speed rail terminus, Station Casa-Voyageurs, Casablanca, Morocco. December 2019 The Casa-Voyageurs Railway Station was directly...
Hungary: Palatschinke
Palacsinta, Baross Gábor utca, Györ, Hungary. April 2019 [from FB post: May 16, 2019] "Palatschinke" - this brought back great memories ...
Iraq: a very short story
From the Albertina Collection, Vienna. May 2019 Lalish Yazidi Temple, Duhok Province June 2020 [from FB post: May 3, 2019] Revan At...
Czech Republic: Brno
Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul, Brno, Czech Republic. April 2019 Pivovar Lucky Bastard, Brno. April 2019 When I was kid, I think in...
Central Java: Candi Sewu
Candi Sewu, Central Java, Indonesia. April 2016 The Prambanan Plain under the ever-erupting Mt Merapi in Java is strewn with temples. ...
Italy: Livorno
Latte macchiato, Mediterraneo, Quartiere la Venezia Fortezza Vecchia Fried Calamari, Il Chiosco del Porto February 2019 Leghorn Leave...
Milford: mowing the lawn
Back garden, our house, Milford 2003 [from FB post: May 5, 2010] I mow my lawn with a push mower. You would think I was burning a flag...
Saudi Arabia: a monarchy
King Fahd Fountain, Jeddah. January 2017 [from FB post: April 23, 2017] Notes from Saudi Arabia: There was a royal decree last night that...
Duhok: vacant stares
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC December 2021 “And then I felt sad because I realized that once people are broken in certain ways, they can't ever be fixed, and this is something nobody ever tells you when you are young and it never fails to surprise you as you grow older as you see the people in your life break one by one. You wonder when your turn is going to be, or if it's already happened.” - Doug Coupland [from FB post: April 26, 2019] It is taking a lot of time
Federal Triangle
Environmental Protection Agency, Constitution Avenue December 2021 An old love affair gone sour In my childhood seeing the Federal Triangle meant we were just a stone's throw from the Smithsonian Museums. Those massive Greco-Roman columns for me as a kid on a trip to the capital from rural Pennsylvania were awe inspiring. In later years as a college student, I continued to love the severity of those facades. They stood for so much it seemed - democracy and order at the v
