Author Archives: The Wife of Bath
Just sleeping in Diocletian’s Palace, no big deal
This is where we’re sleeping tonight in Split, Croatia: Up a steep flight of stairs, on the left, is our room tonight— inside Diocletian’s Palace. Diocletian–just your run of the mill nasty Roman emperor–retired here in the early 300’s AD. As a lover of classical architecture, I’m pretty stoked about it. But not as stoked […]
I may or may not have broken the house rules in Trogir
This morning we took an early bus down the coast of Croatia, with this stunning view of the Zagreb archipelago out our window. Our destination? Trogir, the UNESCO World Heritage zone and, you might say, kind of a pretty town. Trogir is essentially an island jammed with medieval and Renaissance architecture. 13th century cathedral. Mr. wine-pressing man, […]
Coffee culture and a sack of Sauerkraut in Zagreb
Here’s a summary of our day in Zabreb so far: coffee, burek, market, walking, coffee, pizza, sculptures, sauerkraut, gay bar, walking, burek, sculptures, OH GOD LOOK AT ALL THOSE PEOPLE DRINKING COFFEE! DO THEY EVER STOP DRINKING COFFEE?, walking, sauerkraut. I adore Zagreb. Seriously people. Zabreb is an authentic, handsome, pedestrian and bike friendly city, with superb public […]
We are the change that we seek: Chicago’s New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church
From around 1910 through the 1970’s, Chicago was a destination for many African Americans from the rural South who moved here seeking better opportunities in an urban environment. This movement, known as The Great Migration, resulted in a cultural and demographic shifting of communities. New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, located in Chicago’s West Garfield Park neighborhood, consciously […]
Hey budget travelers, where do you like to sleep?
Me? I prefer a cheap, centrally located, private room. These days—thank you world wide web—finding a cheap sleep is quite straightforward if you know what you want. Most people assume that since I’m a budget traveler I use hostels. Hostels are cheap and often centrally located, but I don’t usually stay in them due to the lack […]
Our Lady of Peace, South Shore’s street art, and Minister Farrakhan doesn’t like us
Our Lady of Peace, a Roman Catholic church in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood, is a neo-Renaissance class act. Completed in 1933 during the depression, the church was initially meant to be Gothic in style—the turn towards Renaissance was a money saving measure. The finished church doesn’t seem like a compromise to me, however, because wait until […]
The unanticipated side effects of a picnic at Pont Valentré, Cahors
Want to visit a unique city nestled inside a bend in a river, an authentic and non-touristy town with highly-cultivated gastronomy? Yes? Then Cahors is for you. But wait until you get a look at this bridge—now you’re sold, aren’t you? The Southwestern region of France is teeming with medievalist catnip, and Cahors’ Pont Valentré is […]
I (finally!) have travel gear
Let’s get right to the good part: I finally found waterproof walking shoes. My quest for waterproof walking shoes was more or less the Epic of Gilgamesh, The Aeneid, Njáls Saga and The Odyssey rendered in retail. It was not pretty. It involved a lot of returns. And yet, just at the moment I feared […]
Walking the West Rogers Park eruv, the invisible spiritual city on Chicago’s North Side
Look closely. See the long, black rectangle hidden in the mural below, beneath the red arms? That’s a door to a invisible city. An invisible city, or perhaps more accurately, an enclosed spiritual zone, known as an eruv. I’ve been traveling through the West Rogers Park eruv for years, unaware of its existence, until a few weeks […]
My ten favorite works of art in situ and why you should see art in its original context
Of course I had a conversion experience: it happened in Florence, back when I wasn’t such a prepared traveler. HOB and I were on our honeymoon eating too much gelato and wandering through the art historical wonders of this Renaissance city. We entered the Museum of San Marco on a whim and were instantly drawn […]
Picnic at the Cathedral 