Although the Arctic storm that paralyzed much of the U.S. (especially my hometown of Buffalo), put a monkey wrench in the holiday plans of millions, including me, I decided to make the trip to Cleveland and Buffalo anyway. By bus…
Tag: solo traveler
Wondering About Wu
Around 10 p.m., the doorman rang to ask if he should allow a Chinese gentleman up, and a few minutes later, Professor Wu rang my tenth-floor doorbell. Professor Wu spoke little English, and I had trouble understanding why such a well-dressed (he always wore a suit and tie) Chinese bureaucrat would need to crash with a stranger…
Remembering Christo
The Arc de Triomphe Wrapped offered an inspirational aesthetic experience, a wrinkle in time, that offered a glimpse into an imaginable world of beauty, creativity, harmony, and solidarity….
The Well-Traveled $8K
Before I left for Europe in late February 2020 for what I assumed would be a six-month visit that, due to pandemic circumstances, morphed into an eighteen-month stay, I went to a Fifth Third (my bank) branch in Cleveland and asked it to wire $8,000 to my euro account in Germany. When they told me the wire fee had escalated to some amount exceeding $100, I requested cash…
Aristocratic Bibliophiles
Jim’s count boyfriend, Pascal, gave him permission to invite me for a long weekend in Brittany that includes a reunion of nobility on Sunday. I’m excited. Although I have friends descended from noble families—des and de las, vons and vans —I’ve never attended a more-or-less artistos-only event….
NYC Homeless
I rarely interact with the homeless, unless it’s to offer money or food…
Greifswald on Sunday
If, on a Sunday morning between 9:30 and 10 a.m. you sit in the leafy park of majestic linden trees beside the Nikolai Dom, the cathedral, you will be treated to a symphony of bells…
Bregenz
If attending a performance of the Bregenzer Festspiele is not on your Bucket List, it should be, opera fan or not. It is always a magical spectacle, the likes of which you will not see anywhere else…
Friendship
For me, the real joy of travel is less seeing marvelous sights, although I like that a lot, but rather spending time—sharing bits of my life and doing normal, everyday activities—with those whom I’ve chosen to inhabit my world…
Teaser – Prologue
Arriving in Paris in March 2020, fresh from an eight-week long, solo, soul-searching retreat that took me from the frozen forests of Quebec to the cloud forests of Costa Rica, I found myself stranded and without income in a series of incremental incidents that transformed my carefully planned near-future…