Tag Archives: travel
Airport eats: snacks to pack for the airport and your flight
If my mind was a pie chart there would be a large slice labeled Intense Thoughts about Snacks. A subcategory of that slice would be Travel Snacks with a sub-subcategory for Airport Snacks. And since we’re about to leave for a trip my Intense Thoughts about Snacks mind wedge is in full planning mode. Most airport food is disgusting, innutritious and […]
The surprising circus inside San Miguel de Lillo
The rewards for those intrepid travelers who hustle up Mount Naranco in a heavy rainstorm are manifold. Exhibit A: San Miguel de Lillo. This petite beauty has been rewarding water-logged church lovers since 848. Dear readers, I’m afraid I need to insist that you GO TO OVIEDO. Northern Spain is stunning and Oviedo is an architecture lover’s dream. Just […]
A struggle story concerning your travel blogger and her search for waterproof walking shoes
The only time I wish I were a man is in public bathrooms and shoe stores. While I recognize that I don’t have the anatomy to use a urinal, I am beyond frustrated with shoe stores and their lack of practical options for women. Let’s say you’re a dude, and you need some decent walking […]
A skeptic’s guide to travel guide books
I use guide books when I travel, but always selectively and with skepticism. Why am I a skeptic? Because many guide books are inaccurate and poorly updated. Here’s a perfect example: for the past 18 years I’ve worked at the same museum, and throughout those 18 years customers have steadily approached our staff looking confused […]
Cimabue’s crucifix in Arezzo
We arrived in Arezzo at dusk and by the time we walked to the highest elevation of this medieval hill town night had fallen. The interior of San Domenico, a Gothic church, was dimly lit so we slipped a euro in a pay light-box. Crucifix, Cimabue c 1268-71. San Domenico, Arezzo. Cimabue’s startling crucifix lit up above us. Here was Jesus is […]
Sant’ Apollinare in Classe: giddy with Byzantine mosaics and too much bread
A few years ago I was browsing for cheap airfares (okay, so I do that everyday) when I found a remarkably cheap flight into Northern Italy. People, these tickets were under $400, in late May!!! Obviously I snapped up the tickets in a hot second. Almost as quickly, I drafted an itinerary since I already knew where I […]
A day at Cathédrale Ste-Marie in Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges followed by a night of flocked velvet wallpaper
Cathédrale Ste-Marie is a pilgrim magnet. Once you catch sight of this Romanesque-Gothic beauty at the foot of the Pyrenees in the village of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges you are inevitably pulled in by it’s compelling attraction. Don’t you want to come closer? Unlike the scenery, the weather during our visit to Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges was less than idyllic. Not to put […]
Wayfinding basics: how to find your hotel and catch your train
When it comes to travel wayfinding I’m old school—I use paper, as in maps and notes, and I talk to people. It’s not that I’m opposed to technology (although I am possibly the last non-grandmother alive still using a flip-phone), it’s just that technology can and will fail just when you need it most. How’s […]
Saint-Just Basilica in Valcabrère, recycled Roman ruins, no cheese shops
Saint-Just Basilica is cozily nestled in the tiny village of Valcabrère, population 164, in the Haute-Garonne department of Southwest France. This small Romanesque church built in 11th -12th centuries is handsomely proportioned, with well-preserved portal sculptures. As if the setting wasn’t picturesque enough, what with the red chickens clucking about, antique barns and strategically placed […]
Romanesque frescoes in San Isidoro de León
The Chicago Public Library once had a book on Romanesque art I repeatedly checked out, renewed the maximum amount of times, and then immediately put on hold again. I’d leave bookmarks inside of the artworks I planned to visit, and the book would usually return to me with my bookmarks intact. One of the bookmarked […]
Picnic at the Cathedral 