Armenia as Humanity

Ioanna corrected me when I said “everything” was closed. “Just the museums,” she said. She’s correct that museums aren’t everything but I’m not a big shopper, and I wanted to do something other than sit in cafes and parks. If I had planned better, today would have been a great day to have planned day […]

A Beautiful Easter Day

The old man sitting next to the bubbling drinking fountain in a dusty blue ball cap took a long drag of his cigarette and looked up at me with his puffy grey face, deep crescents of crimson underlining each sagging eyelid. “Sit down.” I turned to him. “I said ‘Sit down.’” he ordered me in […]

Behind-the-Scenes and the Stories I Don’t Tell

Sometimes I need a trip. I just need to get away And when life gets busier I need it to be alone, so I can sit with my thoughts, turn them over, examine them, and find the answers I need. A good trip facilitates that through distraction – I can focus my conscious brain elsewhere […]

A Tale of Two Cheeses

As a child, the first cheese I remember discovering and liking was Muenster. Sure, there were other cheeses in our home such as bland, somewhat weird tasting American slices that made a great grilled cheese, and briny, pungent parmesan, which we sprinkled liberally on Mom’s spaghetti. But these were such normal things that I didn’t […]

The Texas of France

Nestled on the fluid border that divides France and Germany, in the picturesque land between the Vosges mountains and the Black Forest, Alsace boasts a rich, complicated history. A frequent spoil of war, the region has changed hands five times since 1681. When a people experience such swings of authority and allegiance, they develop a […]

In The Museum of Joy

I most often travel solo, but I never really travel alone. Dad was with me today for this one, at least for a little while. He’s been gone almost 14 years, and never visited France, so I didn’t expect to find him here. And yet there he was. Still feeling a bit off kilter in […]