“Your fourth year in Barbados! You are living the dream!” Well, yes. It is pretty amazing. But I often feel that people are picturing us on vacation all the time, just multiplying their tropical holiday by 20. When you live here you experience a lot that someone visiting might not even notice. Storm is past … Continue reading Living in a Tropical Paradise: the Flip Side
I didn’t have a dance party on my 60th birthday. That had been the plan. Crosbie, whose standing joke was that I was his older friend (by one month!) was all for a joint party. We knew where (Moose Hall) although we hadn’t decided between the local band that did covers of 70s and 80s … Continue reading Keep on Dancing
“Oh, it’s so touristy,” a friend told me. “And really busy.” True. After all, the Amalfi Coast has been a popular tourist destination since the 18th century, part of the Grand Tour and later a favourite of the jet set. I’m sure I’d seen it in a Fellini film, as well as many other movies … Continue reading La Dolce Vita: a Week on the Amalfi Coast
We sit on the terrace in the vineyard, looking over the rows of grapes that slope down towards the lake. Their pinot gris was a bit sweet for me, but this glass is excellent. No, I’m not in France, Italy or Germany. I’m not in the Napa Valley or, closer to home, the Okanagan. I’m … Continue reading Surprising Switzerland
We were on a knife edge ridge, 2000 m high, east of Luzern in the Swiss Alps. “I can’t even see them!” Scott complained. “How can they be so LOUD?” But they were. The cows were like insects in the pastures far below us, yet the clanging of their bells was omnipresent and impossible to … Continue reading The Hills are Alive, with the Sound of …Cowbells? Hiking in Switzerland
We head north from Courtenay, on the way to meet Kymn, an old friend I haven’t seen for 4 years, what with life changes and Covid. We drive by the gas station another friend used to own. It’s the old fashioned type with a two bay garage. The paint is peeling, although the gas pumps … Continue reading Old, Old Friends
Scott swam to the beach and went for a run. I lounge on the catamaran with my book, dipping beskuit in my coffee. Our host Christine had baked the delicious, traditional South African rusks. She makes our breakfast while her husband Roux does boat chores. Early morning run Our sailing trip in the Grenadines at … Continue reading Sailing in the Grenadines
I finally made it back to Paris. I was here 14 years ago, with two (sometimes cranky) teenagers. Their joke is that their main sight of Paris was my back, as they tried to keep up with me. We had a schedule. Every day, pretty much every hour, was planned. We were staying in a … Continue reading Paris, again
“Did you spit in it?” Christine asked, the first time she saw me after our trip to St Vincent. It had been my standing joke before we went. Anyone who had been here two years before understood. When La Soufrière erupted and the jet stream brought clouds of ash eastward to Barbados, we were trapped … Continue reading On the Edge of the Volcano: La Soufrière in St. Vincent
How do you evoke a Caribbean paradise, without sounding like a thousand other descriptions of a hundred different islands? Your table is waiting. ✔️ Warm tropical breezes?✔️ Sandy beaches lapped by turquoise water? ✔️ Hot tropical sun, then a sudden shower of rain, soon over?✔️ Palm trees and lush flowering shrubs?✔️ Quaint fishing villages?✔️ Beach … Continue reading Grenada: Another Caribbean Paradise
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