A couple week ago, I was introduced to Kinsey II, a replacement kindle. I ordered one, had it shipped home, and then my mom kindly forwarded it along to meet me in Rome. That said, I again have been able to easily access literature. While in Amsterdam, I know that I will be visiting the [...]
Somehow, during my last visit a couple weeks ago, I managed to spend two nights in Rome without tasting gelato, and despite giving Gabe a hard time ever since, he did not allow Katherine or me to have Gelato outside of Italy. My first taste of Italian Gelato came our first night in Pisa from [...]
As I knew I would be traveling to Tuscany to work on a vineyard, I felt it was appropriate to read Frances Mayes’ book “Under The Tuscan Sun.” Mayes, between her descriptions of buying, renovating, and living in an abandoned house, describes her experiences of working in the garden and dealing with the locals. Most [...]
Ursula loves to read and her library illustrates this well. Within minutes of arriving on the farm she is excited to have Katherine read her favorite book, “Cranford” by Elizabeth Gaskell. Although Katherine does not make it too far into the book, we are intrigued by the first couple pages of the book and how [...]
In “A Tramp Abroad”, Mark Twain describes some observations he had while in Germany, and I feel that as I depart, I want to remember some of his pearls that I read along the way. “My philological studies have satisfied me that a gifted person ought to learn English (barring spelling and pronouncing) in thirty [...]
I get up early and make my outside the city via train and towards the Dachau Concentration Camp. I have an idea of what to expect from museum exhibits I’d seen, books I’d read, and explanations I’d heard. However, soon after arriving, acquiring an audio tour, and making my way through the camp, I realize [...]
Instead of reading about Sweden’s history or culture, I read the first of Stieg Larsson’s series, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” And by read, I mean listen because of Kinsey the Kindle’s tragic death not too long ago. Thus, while flying in planes and riding in trains, I listened to the epic tale of [...]
Shah’s book helped me understand some of the culture that was surrounding me. It demonstrated the religious and often superstitious nature of the Moroccan people, and it highlighted the importance that all of the artistic disciplines played in their society. Shah explained much about ridding a house of Jinns and bringing in baraka. Jinns are [...]
“The guidebooks love to tell you that the movie, perhaps the most famous film ever made, was shot entirely in Hollywood. I found it strange that it should have attracted such a cult following, famous for being famous. As the first scenes came and went, I couldn’t help but notice that the Casablanca depicted on-screen [...]
“What a world of ruined sculpture was about us! Set up in rows—stacked up in piles—scattered broadcast over the wide area of the Acropolis—were hundreds of crippled statues of all sizes and of the most exquisite workmanship; and vast fragments of marble that once belonged to the entablatures, covered with bas-reliefs representing battles and sieges, [...]