Stories

THE GREAT MARKET OF BUDAPEST ………from paprika to politics. Zolton pinches a spike of a long, brilliant, shiny red paprika plant hanging above his counter.  He twirls the piece between his fingers, plucks it off, breaks it open, smells it and touches the open end to his tongue.  His eyes water and he smiles. “This…

STUTTGART……..not all European cities are created equal. When people think of Europe, they think of the grandeur of Paris with the Arc de Triomph, imperial Rome with the Colosseum, London and Big Ben, Budapest and the Parliament Building.  Then there’s Stuttgart. “What happened here?,” Connor, one of my group, says as we leave the Stuttgart…

RUNNING ON ICE. White lights glitter on a thicket of pine trees, the night sky is black velvet, and below are the tiny glowing booths selling handmade scarves the size of shawls, puffy woolen sweaters, and lacquered toys. The cobblestone streets glisten with snow flurries.  People in furry parkas and fat mittens greet friends and…

THE VAGINA DIALOGUES ………..when you travel, you don’t always find what you expect. “So you’ve read ‘The Name of the Rose’ but you’ve never heard of ‘The Vagina Dialogues’?”, asks Rolf, in the tourism bureau in Melk, Austria. I shake my head, startled at the title.  It was my first surprise of the day. “Never…

…..THE BISTRO DES VOSGES.

….beer, brats, pretzels & politics.

Part 1: So you think you can pack? Remember the good old days of travel when a suitcase was the size of a small apartment, had no pesky wheels, and we walked into a classy hotel with a porter carrying our luggage behind us? We dragged these bags out of storage, opened them, and began…

…….be careful what you ignore.

Be careful what you wear……