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In the meantime, all I have to say is that watching "Pimp My Ride" in German is a very strange experience. - The good and bad from Budapest We were glued to "Pimp My Ride" in Florence: "Peeeemp my ride!"... ... (continued)

There are almost too many things to do in Florence. ... (continued)

“One doesn't come to Italy for niceness … one comes for life. Buon giorno! Buon giorno! Look at that adorable wine-cart! How the driver stares at us, dear, simple soul!” ... (continued)

There are two things to do in Siena: look at the churches, and sit in the Piazza Il Campo. ... (continued)

There are two things to do in Bayeux: look at the church, and look at the tapestry. ... (continued)

Almost everyone we dealt with spoke great English. You could easily travel in Paris without speaking any French. ... (continued)

The Parisian section of our trip was notable for the following: tiny hotel rooms, expensive food and drink, numerous sidewalk cafes, labyrinthine Metro stations with lots of stairs, and a curious lack of taxis. ... (continued)

Paris is great. Bayeux was cute and Normandy was pretty. Florence is lovely but E thinks Siena is even lovelier. The cathredals, museums, shops, rambling walks down narrow cobblestone streets, sidewalk cafes, tiny cups of espresso, and of course, the... ... (continued)

Three-word review: Spain is awesome. Skip directly to the pictures if you want. ... (continued)

My only concern is the nightlife, i.e., how the hell am I going to keep up with these Spaniards?!?! I go to bed at 10:00 p.m. They are starting dinner then. ... (continued)

You are welcome! ... (continued)

Our five-day road trip was so whirlwind that describing it chronologically would probably result in a baffling mishmash of impressions. Instead, I'll group photos and narrative by location, starting with Burkina Faso: Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dialasso and all the roads in between. ... (continued)

Joseph Ndiaye has been single-handedly researching, recording, and interpreting the history of Île de Gorée, and in particular the Maison des Esclaves, since 1962. ... (continued)

From the salle d’attente, we had a great view of the runway, which was struck by lightning every few minutes. ... (continued)

Ft. Dauphin is the most beautiful place I have ever seen, yet living there is prohibitively difficult. ... (continued)

Just photos today, and a poem. ... (continued)

Wealthy countries are all alike; every poor country is poor in its own way. ... (continued)

I was thinking of Madagascar as part of Africa, like Mali, but I was wrong. Madagascar isn’t like anywhere else in the world. Still, I can only describe it by contrasting and comparing it to places I’ve been. For example:... ... (continued)

My husband got back Tuesday night from the United States with an extra-heavy suitcase packed with goodies like books and magazines and new clothes and maple syrup, a fishing rod and lures, Barbies™ (for a friend), and Jif® peanut butter.... ... (continued)

“Are sandals appropriate footwear for riding a camel, or do I need something sturdier?” I asked my companion. “Actually,” she said, “it doesn’t matter. You ride barefoot.” Not everywhere, you don’t (I later learned) but when in Timbuktu, you ride... ... (continued)

When I started writing this, I was sitting under a fluorescent light on a broken couch in the guest house at L’Institut des Hautes Etudes et de la Recherche Islamique Ahmed Baba (a.k.a. the Ahmed Baba Institute) in Timbuktu, munching... ... (continued)

In the early 1980's, I spent a couple hours in Niagara Falls. It was my first time out of the United States. Everyone except Gramma donned rubber slickers and little canvas booties and toured the falls. In 1990, I spent... ... (continued)

Calling Mali is much easier than calling Burkina Faso. I got through on the first try, but it was hard to hear E, so I called him back on his cell phone. Then we followed the International Calling rules: 1.... ... (continued)

Have you tried calling Burkina Faso lately? Probably not, unless your boyfriend is at a conference in Ouagadougou, like mine is. We set an appointment for a 10:00 a.m. call on Saturday. I fixed a pot of tea and started... ... (continued)

The thing I love best about New York is the way it makes me feel: at the center of the world, wide awake and alert, (over-)stimulated, nerves crackling. I'm still processing all that I saw and smelled and tasted and... ... (continued)

I've got an e-ticket to London, departing Saturday, returning the following Saturday. I'll catch a train to Scotland and see Glasgow and Edinburgh, which I never did do while I was at the University of Lancaster in 1993. I was... ... (continued)

I've narrowed down next week's possible destinations: Lamu or Opryland.... ... (continued)

It began auspiciously enough: a clear blue Sunday, a full tank of gas, no shortage of listenable music on the radio, no traffic to speak of. In five hours I was cruising down the Croatan Highway, aka the Bypass, toward... ... (continued)

Linens? Check. Coffee press? Check. Half bottle of Gordon's gin? Check. Two unfinished novels, one new novel, one unfinished collection of essays, and one new book of short stories? Check. Sunday New York Times? Check. Three cameras, five rolls of... ... (continued)

Four days from now, where will I be? On the top balcony. Can you see me? I'm sitting in the weatherbeaten rocking chair with my bare feet up on the rickety railing. In my right hand is a beer --... ... (continued)

Friday I took my first business trip ever, and flew for the first time since I went to Jamaica in 1998. I took Midwest Express to Milwaukee and I'd totally do it again. For one thing, they serve complimentary champagne... ... (continued)

It took all week but I've added photos from last weekend's trip to New Haven. Heather and I took the 5:37 Acela Regional north with naught for entertainment but The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need. Over two hours later,... ... (continued)

DC is so diverse in so many ways, and yet you never see the kind of people you see in Tidewater Virginia. The Virginia Beach boardwalk on Saturday was warm and sunny and full of crewcut young men with their... ... (continued)