1

366 steps

  Walking into the city center of Bruges (Brugge) is like being transported into the pages of a Sleeping Beauty story. Disneyworld is not the happiest place on earth.  Bruges is. Its historic center a Unesco designated World Heritage Site (WHS), Bruges is the capital of the province of West Flanders in Belgium. The city center is home to about 20,000 people but …

Yves, thanks for the memories

I read about Yves Saint Laurent’s passing on June 1 of this year when I happened to be in France. It was a sad way to start the day, but I found some wonderful essays and obituaries in the French papers in the hours then days that followed. As many people who knew him indicated, it was time for him …

1

I Amsterdam, part 2

Today begins with a stop in Dam Square. It is yet another huge square flanked by grand, historic buildings and tons of shops and restaurants. This picture below is taken of a map at a bus stop and is of no significance to anyone except to my immediate family. Or maybe to people who need to get to Dam Square: …

I Amsterdam

When I arrive in Amsterdam it is sunny but thunder strikes. Finally it drizzles and yet the sun is still fighting for air space. I am nervous because I’m not used to the number of cables overhead and the oncoming trains. My favorite architect Antoni Gaudi died from getting run over by a tram so I have no romantic notions …

1

Keep on Walking

It may be easy to cross international borders in the EU, but it doesn’t change the fact that there are definitely big cultural gaps between one nation and the next. When I’m in Germany–in this case in the city of Koln–the differences are palpable, from the architecture to the food, to people’s body language, and even to rules of the …