There are old fables of exhausted men climbing tall mountains to find a wise Buddhist monk meditating on the very top. The monk then, in very few words, discloses to the weary traveler the secret to success, love, life, or whatever grand question is presented. In these fables, the monks […]
Read MoreAuthor: Julia
Japan: The Simple Houses of a Complex Country
It was 6 am and I woke up freezing. Wrapped in my blanket head to toe, I braved the chilly air to sneak my head out and look around. We were sleeping on the floor. Under the neighboring blanket, Victor was awake and trembling as well. “It feels as if […]
Read MoreSinging the Portuguese Blues
It’s dusk in Lisbon. Darkness is setting over narrow streets and mournful melodies flow out of every pub, café, and restaurant. It’s the sound of traditional Portuguese lament, produced by a twelve-string guitar, a viola, and a heartbroken woman (or sometimes a man). This is fado, folk music of Lisbon’s […]
Read MoreDid I Do That?! Driving in the UK
Please start with our previous post to learn how and why I ended up driving through rural England. In May 2018, we flew to London to spend 5 days in southwest England. By the time we walked out of Heathrow airport, it was three hours later than we planned. The […]
Read More“You Almost Killed a Man!” or Why I No Longer Drive on Our Trips
We were in a tiny Peugeot, in a small Spanish city, staring at a road, going up the hill. The car was manual, the hill was steep. Victor, who happened to get a traffic ticket two days before we left for our trip and thus didn’t have his driver’s license, […]
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