Not quite gladiators

It’s fall in Switzerland – you know what that means, right? Time for the farmers to start entertaining themselves (and others) with their cows. Not to be outdone by last year’s desalpes, this past weekend we headed west to watch Cows Fighting in Martigny. What’s that, you say? You’re not familiar with cow fighting? Well … Read more

On top of the duomo

I’m beginning to suspect that the bottom portion of the scaffolding on the front of Milan’s duomo is there for good. I believe it went up in 2003 or 2004, and it’s still in place as of last weekend, sporting ads for Marie Claire and Elle magazines. Perhaps the church is using the advertising proceeds … Read more

Glacier Melt

Last Sunday afternoon we headed down from Murren and went to visit the Trummelbach Falls. This is a series of waterfalls roaring through a mountain, runoff from the melting glaciers of the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau. It is truly spectacular. The dim lighting combined with our puny little camera made it impossible to capture even … Read more

Finding Chagall in small-town Switzerland

My trip to French-speaking Switzerland the other week had a purpose (beyond making fun of the newspapers, I mean)– our goal was to find art and look at it. Day one was spent in Lausanne, a lovely, hilly town on Lake Geneva, where after a lovely Middle Eastern lunch my friend Ali and I visited … Read more

Doing Dublin

We spent a little time in Dublin at the beginning and end of our trip to Ireland, split up that way so we could take advantage of the direct flights between Dublin and Zurich on Aer Lingus. It was one of my first experiences with European discount airlines (since most don’t fly out of Zurich), … Read more

Driving on the left and other notes from Ireland

We had a wonderful week exploring Ireland. The cities and towns were simultaneously charming and rough around the edges; the landscapes were sweeping and beautiful. The weather was intermittently rainy, but we hardly minded since the temperature was so cool and nice. If only they had real, snowy winters, it would be the perfect climate … Read more

I know who killed Harry Potter

OK, actually I’ve never read a single Harry Potter book, nor seen a movie, nor bought his albums (surely he has albums too, no?) What I do know is that Ireland has gone mad for the new book, which was apparently available starting at midnight. Despite the rain, costumed teens and families were out waiting … Read more

The cannolis of NYC

First off, for those of you who haven’t yet had the pleasure, allow me to introduce you to the wonderful pastry delight that is the cannoli. These Sicilian delicacies consist of a deep-fried pastry shell filled with ricotta-based creamy deliciousness. Traditionally there are little pieces of candied citron involved, and a dusting of powdered sugar, … Read more