nod 'n' smile

So, speaking of my trip to Turkey.. personal reflection and great people aside, the country and its landscape weren’t half bad, either. Actually, that’s an extraordinary understatement. Turkey is a country of stunning, varied landscapes and, I think, a must see for any avid traveler anyone. One of my favorite areas was the Cappadocia region of central [...]

I hope everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving, and even those who didn’t, had enough to eat and found plenty to be thankful for yesterday! My Thanksgivings are generally pretty low key but this year I spent it with my parents and a record number of J’s family, family of family and family friends. I most definitely [...]

Have I mentioned I’m on a tight budget? Now that Operation Round-the-World is in effect, gone are the days when we would eat out every night. We’re now buying groceries and trying to cook (it’s not pretty), which we hope will ultimately save us some money toward our trip. But recently, I learned I can [...]

I’ve written about kooky, contemporary art before (here and here), so I obviously love it. But that’s not to say I always get it (ah yes, three lines on a canvas- profound) and sometimes I do want to cry  foul, especially when the artist seems to take him/herself too seriously. Enter Carsten Höller, a German [...]