Tag: Europe

When Nude Isn’t Naked

A Guest Post by Contributor Lisa Hill, American expatriate living in Switzerland. I walk through the room, topless, anticipating… He waits for me there, ready. I climb onto the table and my doctor begins the examination. Nudity. Nakedness. Not always the seductive, titillating state we Americans have infused it with. Sometimes, it’s just being without…

Venice and Other Temporary Places

The copy of John Berendt’s “The City of Fallen Angels” that Heather gave me is water-logged. It looks as though it made it here by water taxi. The book, which I am halfway through, wanders through this old city, meeting real Venetians and asking them: “How do you feel about Venice?” It’s a series of…

Earth Day, Imagined

I found that my iPhone’s App Store “What’s Hot” as Green Apps featured today, as part of Earth Day celebration and I am thrilled. Earth Day is 40 years old today, and now it is almost ubiquitous. Everywhere there are thousands of events, so many that it is impossible to even get to all of…

Stephen Fry and the Perfect Rant

Thanks to my husband, I got the chance to listen to the ultimate rant on America… from my favorite Brit, Stephen Fry. He has a fantastic podcast called Stephen Fry’s Podgrams. Some are scripted, others are extemporaneous. That  is major. Fry came to America for his BBC series Stephen Fry’s America, now available on DVD.…

The Bell Ringers of Westminster Abbey

Aimee came to visit me and, so, I did what I do when people come to visit… I made plans. Came across a listing in Time Out London magazine (the website is useful, but nothing beats the actual publication… it is original, poignant and catches the exact tone of London’s edge. Not just a calendar.)…

Amsterdam in Three Days

AmsterdamClick above to view Photos At the last minute, Colin and I decided we couldn’t leave Europe without a trip to Amsterdam. This is the sort of trip that makes me wonder about all those OTHER places I haven’t seen yet: what IF? What if I am missing out on the place of my dreams?…

What YES! gave me…

I did NOT want to go on this ski trip. Go skiing in the Alps? In Italy? No thanks! Some of you may think: That is BONKERS. Some of you may think that is just plain out of character. (Elizabeth LOVES to travel!) Some of you are cursing me for not appreciating the luck I…

C’mon everybody… follow me to The Lost Summer!

Well, for those of you that wondered what happened to Colin and I this summer, here is a photo montage, not necessarily in order… very much like the European history you studied in high school, there was conflict, drama, invasions, unheaval, and Van Morrison concerts at stately homes. Enjoy! Bob, Amy and Colin in the…

Three Reasons to Have Children

In July, when the Barnes family left Lawrence, Kansas to visit us in London, I discovered three really great reasons to have children. The Barneses are our friends through Colin, my husband. Colin and Bob Barnes worked and played golf together in Kansas City. Bob and his wife, Amy, know each other because they are…