T̶w̶o̶ One p̶e̶r̶p̶e̶t̶u̶a̶l̶ ̶e̶x̶p̶a̶t̶s̶ immigrant settling into home country number five.
Greetings from America! No matter how many times I come back to the US, there are some things that always confuse the crap out of me for the first couple days, leaving me wondering if I really am from here. Depending on how long you are away and how much you integrate into your host … Read more
Today I was wandering around Coop, minding my own business, when suddenly something new and different crept into my field of vision. There on the shelf, looking all dark and handsome, was this package: Lindt 70% cacao dark chocolate filled with a gooey center of cherry and chili. I’m not sure how long this stuff … Read more
Last year I wrote about the inauguration of the NOVA 3D light sculpture in the Zurich main train station. This marginally entertaining installation has become a lot more interesting since then, now that its interactive capabilities have been enabled. By touching a glass screen on the side of the groups meeting point sign, you can … Read more
There are lots of things about Vienna which make me think it would be a nice place to live. One of my favorite parts of the city is the daily outdoor market called the Naschmarkt. It’s just one of those sumptuous sensory-overload type markets, bursting not only with fresh fruit and veggies, but also olives, … Read more
The Viennese have a lovely tradition of dropping everything at around 4 PM and indulging in some Kaffee und Kuchen. In the interest of getting the most out of our vacation, we of course also adopted this practice while we were in Vienna. We are nothing if not cultural adventurers. To get the true Austrian … Read more
[Warning: this post may not be suitable for Americans.] Spring has sprung here in Old Europe, and that means the naked people have come out to play. Old and young alike are sunbathing naked in the parks, enjoying a nice naked sauna, or looking forward to that first trip to the beach where the can … Read more
It’s official, there’s a new Mr. Switzerland (and much to my surprise, it’s not this guy). I learned this from watching the local news yesterday. It was the second story, following close on the heels of a very important piece about Paris Hilton’s first trip to Basel (or Zurich, or somewhere… how am I supposed … Read more
After filling up on the artsy type of culture in Padua, Ali and I hopped on a train and headed to Vicenza for an afternoon of passegiate, aperitivi, and shopping, all of which also clearly qualify as cultural activities in Italy. Vicenza is a small city whose center is a large walking district of narrow … Read more
For the next month I will be contributing to the TravelBox Blog over at Slate.com. My posts there cover some of my favorite European travel destinations. They even did a fancy-schmancy caricature of me for the site. Can you pick me out of the three? Quick, go look now!
Back signs seem to be the preferred method of advertising in this city. They were all over the pedestrian zone. This guy wanted us to say rosaries to have our sins forgiven… …while this one wanted us to go drink beer. Hmmm, which one do you think we listened to? And, everywhere you turn in … Read more