Düsseldorf, Part One

If Düsseldorf looks cold in these photos, it’s because it was. But even on a dreary day the city is magnetic. This diverse city along the Rhine River is an international business/financial center with beautiful modern architecture, but its Altstad (Old Town) is...

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Marché de Noël, Dortmund

I’ve been to Germany a few times and have always loved the fact that even if I fell from a plane with no clue of where I am exactly, I can always tell I am in Germany just by looking at the distinctive architecture. I also love that the German people are...

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Fashion Opportunity Costs

If I had a choice of superhero powers, it wouldn’t be the ability to control weather (though that could be a very practical skill set for a road warrior like me) or to heal myself from physical injury or even to have X-ray vision. It would simply be the power to...

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Paris For Play

Paris is definitely a dangerous playground for any fashion addict, whether you are that seasoned shopper with a determined gaze straight ahead of you or a newbie meandering around a bit lost with stars in your eyes. At this point in my life, I’m the seasoned...

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Paris For Work

In my first start-up company, way before we all had the luxury of using the Internet to grow our business from our mobile devices or virtual offices, I used to go see a lot of clients with not much more than an address and map printout in hand. No Google map to...

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Knokke Het Zoute, Belgium

Is this what my life has come to? Have I become so obsessed with the hunt for H that my visits now only revolve around cities, no matter how large or obscure, where there are Hermès boutiques? I sure hope not! I’d prefer to think that my travels happen to cross...

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Window Shopping In Antwerp

Antwerp is a port city consisting of a very diverse population of about half a million people. While most people identify Antwerp with diamonds and Rubens or Van Dyck, this quietly vibrant town is also emerging as a fashion capital in its own rights. Olivier...

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Rainbows, Waterfalls, Rambutans and Ramen

One of my earliest childhood memories is sitting in a sunny classroom with one ear on the teacher and another on the chirping of things going on outside the window. For the most part I was a good student but it was always really, really tough for me to concentrate on...

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Silver Lining

Given how unpredictable life on the road can get–from Mother Nature’s temper tantrums to human errors to technical glitches–my first rule of travel is “every cloud has a silver lining.” Take for example my trip to Hilo to visit the...

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The Road To Adoption…The End?

Technically the title of today’s entry should be “The Road To Adoption, Part 5,” but as I was typing, I asked myself what happens when you find your holy grail? Does it mean the end? And I changed the title. This particular adoption began some nine...

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