Saving Lily Bart in San Francisco?

Watching Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine on DVD, I am once again, and surprisingly so, drawn to San Francisco. An unlikely tourism vehicle, the film focuses on a selfish and largely unlikeable society woman played by Cate Blanchett who married up…

Losing My Veganity in Key West

As a vegan, I’ve ordered omelets hold the eggs (because otherwise I tend to get steamed vegetables for breakfast when I actually want fried ones), had many a B.L.T. and asked to hold the bacon and the mayo, and requested…

The Duval Crawl

Standing at the corner of South and Duval Streets in Key West, the Brawny Sherpa and I are tempted first by the Southernmost on the Beach Cafe, which is an easy commute from our room at the little La Mer…

We Brake for Giant Lobsters

Traveling on U.S. 1 and desperately trying to spot mile markers, which seem to have shrunk over time, the Brawny Sherpa and I are in no particular hurry to land on Key West. If we see a curiosity, we’ll stop…

Biscayne, Largo, West

The Brawny Sherpa and I head to the Florida Keys while everyone else is obsessed with the holidays, or already hungover from them, or still regretting the government shutdown and embracing the frustration of Obamacare websites and this truly miserable…

Tracking the Beatles in Hamburg

I didn’t go to Hamburg because of any love of the Beatles, but I’m happy to have rediscovered them there. Partial to the Rolling Stones, I don’t consider myself a huge Beatles fan. Sure, I had Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts…