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,…
Mothers and Marys around the Planet: Red Square
Some images are universal: here, Mary and Jesus depicted in St. Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow. The art of Christianity unites Russians with others here in Red Square. —Lori Tripoli ~Advertisement~ ~Advertisement~ Considering a trip to Russia, with or without your mother? You might like these posts: Moscow Now Chewing It Up in Red Square Russia, Contrariwise…
Depressed in Paris?
There are some places on the planet where gloom just doesn’t settle: Key West, Fla.; New Orleans; Paris. Does anyone visiting these destinations ever have a bad time? How could they? So it is surprising to watch a film about an American living in Paris who just can’t get out of his slump, despite a…
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…
From the Top of Notre Dame: Could This Be a Flying Monkey?
Remembering a trip to Paris, the Bashful Adventurer recalls her time on the roof of Notre Dame Cathedral.
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?
Recreational Learning: Las Vegas
Las Vegas mystifies me with its round-the-clock gambling venues (breakfast and a roll of the dice?), pedestrian routes geared toward moving more walkers through casinos, and homeless people sleeping on walkways. Even in the spare-no-wattage glare of Sin City, real-world misery cannot be obscured. Despite all the reckless indulgence and its aftermath, pleasant surprises await….
Must-Sees in Chicago: Willis Tower’s Skydeck
The Brawny Sherpa and I get up early one weekend morning and head to Willis Tower with the hope that we’ll beat the crowds up to the Skydeck. We are lucky, and we do. Up we zoom to the 103rd floor to get some good glimpses of Chicago’s skyline. I was last here on stop…
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…