The white and green marble of Sienna’s Il Duomo We Blabla’ed our way from Padua to Florence, Europe’s car share service. Sharing a car comes in at half the train costs and a chance to meet someone interesting, maybe. Daphne for example breeds rag doll cats, when she isn’t a dental assistant, […]
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Europe
Chicken or beef? Red or white wine? Love or hate Venice? It’s easy to see why there are two distinct camps. Hordes of tourists, the worst and most expensive food in Italty for starters vs a stunningly beautiful backdrop.We were in one camp then switched. They say Venice is sinking. Likely beneath the biggest crowds […]
Looking towards 14th cent Our Lady Before Tyn Cathedral, Prague Castle in background. I’ve so hyped up cities like Hong Kong and most recently Amsterdam that they could never meet Trish’s expectations, leaving her underwhelmed. Prague presented no such problem. We’d rented a large 3 level flat just outside the vibrant core in […]
This post centres around the Cologne Cathedral, a gothic and German- catholic icon, it’s also the most visited landmark in Germany. Everybody told us there was nothing in Cologne except a train out. While their old town is rather lame-o after Utrecht, the cathedral is eye-popping, and it’s right by the train station. Started in1248, […]
It’s hard not to think of the Netherlands without associating it with cycling. 31% of the Dutch cycle daily. 70% of all travel is done on 2 wheels. Bike safety is taught as part of school curriculum. In some schools, 90% of children cycle. They spend $600 million a year on their network of […]
We know many of you think it strange that strangers take us into their homes. But if you met the hip,urbane Gulla (who waited up until 1a.m. for our arrival) who regale us with stories of trolls, elves, politicians, musicians and Vikings, you wouldn’t it was strange anymore. Then theres my fav chess genius,Bobby Fischer. […]
We brought longjohns, gloves n toques and havent needed them so far…and only now, on our 6th and last full day in Iceland have we met significant rain. It’s a good day to peck away at this blog. While we’ve seen glaciers and snow, we wonder if they have anymore than we do. And with […]
You know how tourists come to North America and go crazy over squirrels? Well Icelanders must chuckle as we marvel over the hundreds of waterfalls (foss) surrounding us. It’s gottten so common that Trish and I have becomes foss snobs. Quietude and crowd-free are a must, and of course size doesnt matter. I say that […]
The Irish are like salmon, they must return to their birthplace. In the case of the O Dowd sisters, it was to an Irish pub. They had to watch the all-Ireland match between Kerry and Cork, with Kerry winning. If Berlin is the wall art/graffiti capital of the world, our IKEA outfitted apartment was located […]
So its hard to image a more beautiful city than Edinburgh. Somehow they’ve managed to by and large preserve the relics of a tragic and heroic history around every corner. You won’t see so much stone and fine craftsmanship anywhere…and we’ve been to Peru. And somehow the turbulence of its heroes, villains, myths and legends […]