I wore myself out in Paris. One day of walking, walking, and more walking. There’s so much that’s been said about this city, I’ll do my best to be original. Someone gave me a great guide to the city of Paris for Christmas last year, and I was determined to use it. I did. I hiked across town to have lunch at the place it recommended as a “best value,” only to find that it was only open for dinner. I found the next place it recommended, a hidden wine bar called “Le Baron Rouge.” There was a wonderful selection of vin from all over the country, and I happily trusted the barkeeper’s selections. The atmosphere inside was very social and chatty. I was the only American inside this elbow-to-elbow joint. I got by on my ... read more

I never meant to stay in Calais. Not that there’s anything wrong with it. I just didn’t’ mean to stay there. But with my first taste of driving in rain on the scooter, total darkness, a new, non-English speaking country, and 100 miles from my destination --- I decided to call it a day. Besides, this trip is supposed to be enjoyable, not unnecessarily dangerous. So after crossing the channel, I stopped for fuel, or “essence,” as they call it in France, and asked for directions to the nearest hostel. The attractive young cashier mistook me for a Frenchman, and rattled off several sentences in Francoise before I shamefully admitted that I didn’t understand. We communicated in pantomime, like cave-people, until a cab driver came in speaking fairly strong English. (Honestly my French isn’t that bad, ... read more

Iceland is like Bizzaro Hawaii: a rocky volcanic island, with settlement all around the shore - but very cold. As my travel buddy Randell and I wandered into the capitol at about 10a.m., we wondered if the sun would ever rise. It did, by 11, and stayed up until at least 3:30p.m. The day started with a long, dark bus ride. We watched as Reykjavik’s city lights began to come into focus, and wondered what wonders they would illuminate. After a short breakfast of bagel with Icelandic cheese and Icelandic butter (was starving because I didn’t eat on the Icelandair flight -- because the only edible thing on the menu, a veggie wrap, was all sold out by the time the burly stewardess got to my seat), we set off toward the old part of town. ... read more

Sacramento: It’s rather ironic that I’m beginning a trip to visit places I’ve never been and have always admired from a distance - with a stop in a place I’ve spent excessive amounts of time and have never actually wanted to be. I’ve always hated this town. It’s a dirty hole, and I have always had the strong sensation that people only live here because they were born here or work here. That’s never a good reason to live somewhere. It kind of goes beyond my whole trip idea - where people ought to stay put a little because they have family, foundation and grounding somewhere. See, in Sacramento, most of the young exec class doesn’t have family here either. They actually move here from someplace - often, undoubtedly, someplace better. So I’ll look for happy, ... read more