Looking for a book about the Depression? Roger Vercel’s 1938 novel about the mount still entices What I like about Mont Saint Michel is that the closer you climb to the top of the mount, the farther you are from the touristy crappiness that can accompany any highly popular destination. Ascending the mount in France…
Finding Ulysses in the Big Apple
Who knew that Civil War General and, later, President Ulysses S Grant had ties to New York beyond West Point? The Bashful Adventurer investigates.
Will Iceland Be Too Cold for You?
Dark Days and Snow Still Lure Tourists Opting to visit Iceland on a whim, in December when the days are dark and cold, I fret that maybe the weather will be so miserable I won’t have a good time. Snow, cold, darkness. . .what am I thinking? To prepare, I buy a long down coat…
The Master Works of the Opera Duomo Museum
Beyond the Uffizi in Florence So much airspace is taken up by the Uffizi Gallery in Florence that a visitor there might overlook a newer museum sited just behind the Duomo. Although the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiori, which runs this new museum, has been around since 1296 when it became responsible for managing…
Romance, Good Food, and History at Ristorante da Raffaele
Eat Like a Local in Venice In a town full of tourists, service at a restaurant can sometimes be a bit aloof, a tad uncaring. After all, everyone knows that you are unlikely to be back after this current meal anytime soon, if ever. Why put a lot into it? Year in, year out, dealing…
Overthinking the Algonquin
Dorothy Parker Is Long Gone I sit down at the Round Table restaurant in the Algonquin Hotel in New York City with no one but long-dead writer and wit Dorothy Parker spinning through my head. Who wouldn’t admire what might have been the original tough woman, a hard-living writer who would blow past deadlines, drink…
Ann Leary’s Good House: Too Many Cocktails & a Bit of Witchiness near Salem
Trying to decide what to read on a trip to Salem, MA? Give Ann Leary’s Good House a look.
If You’re Going to Italy, Bring Delia Ephron
Even if Siracusa Is Not Your Destination, Ephron’s Book Will Delight You I’ve been sucking up just about everything the Ephron sisters put out since I discovered Nora Ephron’s Crazy Salad Plus Nine many, many years ago. It’s no surprise, then, that I pick up Delia Ephron’s latest book, Siracusa, and read it in less…
The Things We Do to Coffee Beans
A Visit to a Costa Rican Coffee Farm With limited time for leisure activities on a business trip to Costa Rica, I skip the beach and head, for part of my day, to a coffee farm. Why? Because I like coffee, of course, but more because I am interested in learning how food is grown…
Should You Just Stay Home?
What to Do When Feeling Threatened by World Events On days when the news seems to be reporting that the world is crumbling, that our own personal peacefulness could possibly be at risk, when certain acts of violence, random or planned, shock more than others, staying in place may look more comforting. I’ll just sit…