One of the really cool things about Tallinn is its proximity to other countries along the Baltic Sea. Daily ferries run to Stockholm, Helsinki, and St. Petersburg (Russia), or you could take a longer, bigger cruise that stops at all of these locations (although, I can’t imagine Old Town Square is quite as idyllic stuffed with Royal Caribbean passengers). Double D and I wanted to spend most of our holiday in Tallinn, learning the ins and outs of our neighborhood…
What is it about being in a foreign country that makes deciding where to eat so difficult? Not knowing the language, not knowing the customs, and not knowing the cuisine can be overwhelmingly intimidating. But finding an extraordinary restaurant can be the highlight of any trip. One of the great advantages of staying in an AirBnB is that the host almost always recommends restaurants. Sometimes those recommendations are off the mark, like our host in Paris who apparently thought people…
Perhaps you’ll remember (probably not) that after the spectacular Christmas fail of 2015, I decided to spend the next Christmas abroad. Despite having spent a large chunk of the summer in France and South Africa, I brought this idea up to my husband, Double D, some time around October. He enthusiastically agreed; we needed to do something different for the holidays this year. Like any good travel planners, Double D and I pulled out our laptops and got to work. On that bottle…
NOT ME! What? Really? Why?! Because the ‘World’s Worst Blogger’ wouldn’t be blogging. That person would be the worst and therefore, wouldn’t be back after a months-long hiatus. And so here I am, after only posting four times in 2016. FOUR TIMES. That’s pathetic. But a lot happened in 2016. Some of it, not so good; I lost the doggie love of my life, Winzig. Some of it, awesomely good; there’s a pitter-pat (and occasionally, rip, rip, rip) of a new…
I’m feeling overwhelmed by the lack of intelligence and grace in the world right now. How about you? Perhaps it’s fallout from the presidential election and realizing the majority of the American population has vast difficulty in the realm of analysis and research. Maybe it’s the bombardment of all things Christmas, which, let’s be honest, has been ongoing since November 1. Maybe it’s the lack of attention to this blog: poor blog. While leaving work yesterday, I was feeling particularly…
We had grand plans. I was going to fly into Boston for her birthday. We were going to have high tea at the public library. We were going to tour Back Bay, take in some history, and eat as many carbs as we could. Unfortunately, a nasty little bug ruined all of our plans but one: eat as many carbs as we could. That mission has been accomplished. Today, instead of venturing out into the world and exploring the historical and culinary sites…
“And when I woke up the next morning, I had booked four international trips! FOUR! We weren’t even that drunk!” I was in stitches. My co-worker was standing over my desk, rolling her mischievous eyes, tossing her dark shoulder-length hair over her shoulders, her smile pinching her cheeks upwards. “Seriously. One bottle of wine. That’s it. And a gin drink.” “I can drink more than that!” I declared. To be fair, my co-worker can too. But despite my bourbon talents, I have…
Clearly, it was a sign. As the burly man loaded our Black Hills spruce on top of the car, he winced as the needles pierced through his gloves and into his thick, calloused fingers. “Them heres angry trees,” he said, rubbing his hands together. “Dey never want to be chopped down in the first place.” I stared at the tree on the roof of the car. An angry tree. It’s blue branches shining in the 80-degree sun, drooping over the back of the window, while…
“The Answer to the Great Question…of Life, the Universe and Everything…” said Deep Thought. “Is…” said Deep Thought, and paused. “Forty-two,” said Deep Thought, with infinite majesty and calm. Or it’s the price of a single glass of Elijah Craig 18 at Manny and Merle in Louisville, KY. It would have been kind of the bartender to tell us this number before he poured the drink, even if it took 7.5 million years, but he was more of a Dolt…
Remember that amazing picture of my mom that I submitted for Vagabond’s photo contest? Sadly, it didn’t win. The picture that did was taken from the top of a mountain…on a ridiculously beautiful day. Unfortunately for me (and my photography), we didn’t experience many sunny days while in Ireland. Occasionally we had good visibility, sure. But bright blue skies? Not so much. Wah-wah. The number of clouds we experienced on the tour certainly didn’t factor into the amount of fun we had. I took that picture of Mom on a…