Category Friends
Conference of the Birds
Tonight I met up with my friend Melanie and saw the Folger Theatre’s production of The Conference of the Birds. The play is based on a 12th century Persian poem. The overarching narrative follows a group of birds in their search for their king, but there are numerous stories nested within. Stories of other kings, […]
Fall colors on Old Rag mountain
Old Rag is a mountain in the Shenandoah National Park that is famous for its unobstructed 360-degree vistas. At this time of year, with the colors peaking and the weather literally perfect, crowds of hikers flock from cities, villages and farmland alike to soak up the natural beauty of autumnal Virginia. Amy, Julie and I set out early on […]
Berlin – Wedding Day
Saturday morning before the wedding was a study in contrasts: Niko: He got up at a normal time, showered, strolled down to the dry cleaners to pick up the shirt he’d forgotten to get the day before, watched a few episodes of Portlandia online (per my recommendation the day before) in his pyjamas. Eventually it was time to […]
Berlin – Wedding’s Eve
So. Berlin. There and back in three days. Thirty-six hours of wedding-related eating, singing, partying, dancing, speaking French, not speaking German, renewing old friendships, making new ones, saying farewell until next time. No sight-seeing. Almost no sleeping. On that last point, I’m happy to report that jetlag actually makes it easier to keep up a breakneck pace […]
Hiking the Piney Branch Trail
After a week of too much work, with an equally demanding week ahead of me, I needed a break. So I met up with Amy and her sister Julie for a hike in the Shenandoah National Park. We did a twelve mile loop through lush green forest. Part of time we were on a fire […]
Trek, Day 2: Sleeping under the stars (or not)
We had the choice of sleeping in the tents (which were stiflingly hot and smelled like sheep) or under the stars. Since the windstorm by this time had died down, leaving an open sky and a light cooling breeze, we opted for the latter. As you can imagine, the spread of stars that you can […]
Madrid, Day 2: Hat!
I bought a hat today. It’s blue and trendy and completely unpackable — but I need something to keep the sun off my head in Morocco, and I think I’ll be able to pull this one off. We found the hat shop yesterday on our way from the Plaza Mayor to the chocolateria. The hats caught my […]
July 4, or every kind of day
I hope my American readers had a good Independence Day! I received text messages from the parental units saying that they did another 5K race this morning and were looking forward to 100+ F weather in Las Vegas. I skyped (while driving!) with Teya and Ammon, who told me about their plans to watch fireworks over the […]
Day at the beach: Assateague Island
Nothing says “summer” quite like a day at the beach. As we move out of the lovely spring coolness and living in Washington starts to feel like camping inside a dog’s mouth, the beach beckons with its breezes, gentle waves, and hours of sun. That said, the beaches here are all at least three hours away […]
tUnE-yArDs and Mariachi at the 9:30 Club
Still playing catch-up from last weekend: After the gardening, the art show, and a great conversation with Lady, I met up with Amy for a concert at the 9:30 Club. It’s arguably the best place in DC for live concerts of the non-classical sort. They get all sorts of people, and the shows are constantly sold […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 