Looking at the world from a boat or from behind a camera, the view is uniquely solipsistic. You are a soul unaccompanied, nearly abandoned as you try to decipher the visual signs of the world unfolding before you. My favorite books growing up were stories of shipwreck, abandonment, and deserted islands. I suppose this might […]
Hort Sant Patrici is a working farm, a family operation for over thirty years. The property still produces cheese, wine, and olive oil. There is also an extensive sculpture garden, really a small park, full of works by international and Menorcan artists. The main house, Ca Na Xini, was rebuilt in 2005 and offers eight […]
Tapas, tapas, tapas. Maybe I’ve just been very lucky but I can’t imagine a bad meal in Barcelona. I think you’d have to work pretty hard to find one. Order a drink, in the simplest of places or even the most touristic, and it will arrive accompanied by a plate of olives, coca (grilled bread […]
The restaurant is unconventional in every way imaginable. First, there is the circus-themed decor. The juxtaposition between the carnivalesque environment and the sophistication of the cuisine is disorienting. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed getting knocked out of my comfort zone and letting go of expectations. Nothing is what it seems at Tickets, the recent outpost from […]
I live a bit of a charmed life, quietly but with good fortune, and always with thanks to the kindness of others. I’m in Paris every six months, but usually in the dead of winter and the sweltering heat of summer. This trip has been blessed with warm weather, blue skies, and Parisiennes who are […]
I was 19 when I first visited New York. Back then, it was a different kind of town. New York, along with San Francisco, was a much needed sanctuary for kids who needed a bit of anonymity to figure out who they were. 31 years later, lots has changed, myself included. I still have little […]
I set out this morning pretending to be a tourist in my own city. I wanted to see how we treat tourists, people with cameras, in our city. I wanted to see if we smiled at visitors. Some cities have mounted police. Camera in hand and sneakers on my feet, I walked from Fort Mason […]
It snows in Paris about once every three years. The city doesn’t really know what to do with snow. Understandably, it would be wasteful to invest in snow plows to clear sidewalks or de-icing machines to defrost airplanes for the three days it snows every three years. It took a second glance to realize this […]
Paris is not my favorite European city, except perhaps in winter. The light becomes cold and metallic under gray skies. The city is at its barren best and most beautiful. Residents reclaim their city and the sidewalks become navigable, even in the most heavily touristed quartiers. Before spring and after fall, the bistros and cafés […]
For Buddhists, the mountains are Gods whose faces we should not be stepping all over. Nor should we be replacing the flowers in their hair with high energy food wrappers and plastic water bottles. I’ve been thinking a lot about extreme adventure sports and adrenaline junkies as I’ve been leaving my own carbon footprints all […]
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