Seeing Where the World Really Changed It seems almost unimaginable now that for so many years, between 1961 and November 9, 1989, a wall divided East and West Berlin and tourists couldn’t cross easily beneath the Brandenburg Gate, and East Germans couldn’t easily get to the West, and this major city and this major country…
Category: Adventuring
Cruising Cemeteries around the Globe
Touring Graveyards for History and Understanding I suppose if you are bashful, a cemetery is a great place to visit given that no one is likely to talk to you much. I like cemeteries for the opportunities they provide to commune with the universe, to learn a bit about history, and to appreciate how other…
Traveling with Witches
It’s a good thing that the law has evolved a bit since the 1600s given my penchant for visiting shamans, inquiring about witches, and talking directly to higher powers without any male or priestly intercession. In May 1647, the first execution in the American colonies of a woman accused of witchcraft took place in Hartford,…
I Say ‘Rice Pudding,’ You Say ‘Milk Tofu’
Lately, I feel like I need a course in restaurant marketing just to help me understand what I order when I order it. My 92-year-old grandmother always chuckles when I mention eating polenta at a restaurant; it’s what she called mush during the Great Depression. What she was embarrassed to be having for dinner I…
Dizzy Spell
This ride at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, N.J. reminds me of three-year-olds twirling themselves to dizziness and then collapsing on the ground in laughter. Why do we go to such great heights to drive ourselves dizzy? When does a three year old’s dizzy giggle become an 80-year-old’s dizzy spell? Spinning feels like flying,…
French Film: Crazy on a Bad Day
Given that adventuring is all about random encounters, romance, and a little bit of train travel, the film Just a Sigh (2013) provides just the right amount of escapism for anyone contemplating Paris or pursuit of a whim. Emmanuelle Devos, playing a broke actress seeking work in Paris, is having a bit of a bad…
Visiting New Orleans
The Bashful Adventurer plans a return trip to New Orleans. Will her memories of visiting New Orleans match the city’s present?
A Closet History at the Eastman House
Hat Boxes and the Past in Rochester, N.Y. Should visitors to Kodak founder George Eastman’s house in Rochester, N.Y. feel nosy upon peeking into closets at the old place? What would someone find if she were to glance into mine? Unfolded laundry, racks packed with too many clothes, wire hangers. Looking into George’s mother’s…
Buckling Up in Ridgefield, Conn.
Amusing Signs around the Planet Photo credit: M. Ciavardini An eye-catching reminder on exiting the Ridgefield Playhouse: extra-terrestrials must be safely strapped in. —Lori Tripoli Like Connecticut? You might be interested in these posts: The Revolution Comes to Keeler Tavern in Ridgefield, Conn. Mapleshade Cemetery and Revolution in Ridgefield, CT Danbury: Revolution, Hats, and a…
Bathroom Etiquette 101
An amusing and informative sign in a restroom in Peru