Sam-I-Am Violin on the streets, fundamentalist Judaism, planting organic vegetables, and the like.

Uncle Sam in Britain: The Long-Awaited Return

UNITED KINGDOM | Wednesday, 25 Jun 2008 | Views [2154] | Comments [2]

I spent the last week literally walking across Scotland. At some point during the hiking trip I decided we could officially get away with saying we were walking across Scotland. It's a bigger country than a week's worth of walking, but we started ... Read more >

Sardine Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

PORTUGAL | Monday, 23 Jun 2008 | Views [1137]

It has been a while since I got off on my own for more than a day. A month on a homestead, and another week with my parents. I can't convey how exciting it is to walk down a quiet hilly streamer-crossed Lisboa street not knowing if I'm going to go left ... Read more >

Tags: food, independence, portugal

9 UNESCO Sites in 8 Days: A week with my parents

SPAIN | Tuesday, 10 Jun 2008 | Views [1709] | Comments [2]

Day 1. Wait for my parents by the side of a downtown Barcelona road, reading in the daily newspaper 'El Pais' about the heroics of Catalan great Pau Gasol, during the Lakers' run to the NBA finals. Barcelona continues to not be a real city. It is by ... Read more >

Tags: culture, food, roadtripping, spain

Gallery: Organic Farming in Catalunya

SPAIN | Sunday, 8 Jun 2008 | Photo Gallery

Gallery: Sketches of Spain

SPAIN | Sunday, 8 Jun 2008 | Photo Gallery

Gallery: Rif Mountains Paradise

MOROCCO | Sunday, 8 Jun 2008 | Photo Gallery

Gallery: Starring Harold Stolper

MOROCCO | Sunday, 8 Jun 2008 | Photo Gallery

The Slow Life in Catalunya (Part Deux)

SPAIN | Tuesday, 27 May 2008 | Views [1247] | Comments [2]

I think my parents eat faster than me, but at the dinner table it never seems to be an issue. Here, though, I am consistently the only person left at the dinner table for 25 minutes on average. More on the food front: I am referred to as 'El Rey de la ... Read more >

Tags: culture, farming, food, history, work

The Slow Life in Spain

SPAIN | Sunday, 18 May 2008 | Views [3119] | Comments [5]

I live in a village with an estimated 50-70 residents. It's called Les Piles de Gaia. My host does not seem to know where it comes from. That is neither here nor there. I am living with a family in rural Catalunya, an hour and a half outside of Barcelona, ... Read more >

Tags: family, farming, spain, work

Gallery: Anubis, Jackal-God of Egypt

EGYPT | Friday, 16 May 2008 | Photo Gallery

Deserts of the World, Unite!

MOROCCO | Friday, 9 May 2008 | Views [1717] | Comments [2]

Harold exposed my lack of travel experience amongst the mountains of the world. True, but I can take solace in my coverage of some of the great deserts of the world. I can count experiences in 5 sprawling expanses of nothingness. The character of each ... Read more >

Gallery: Engineering an Empire

EGYPT | Wednesday, 7 May 2008 | Photo Gallery

Gallery: Three Countries and a Gulf of Aqaba

EGYPT | Wednesday, 30 Apr 2008 | Photo Gallery

On the Cusp of Africa

EGYPT | Wednesday, 30 Apr 2008 | Views [1392] | Comments [2]

Chalk up the 3rd missed flight of my life. Not too good a record here, and that's not including all the trains and buses I've missed. But sitting on this balcony of the Hilton Hotel overlooking the Nile, I remember still how lucky I am to be here. Not ... Read more >

Tags: sights

Gallery: Frisbee in the Desert

JORDAN | Wednesday, 30 Apr 2008 | Photo Gallery

The House of Bondage

EGYPT | Sunday, 20 Apr 2008 | Views [4320] | Comments [2]

Let me see if I can paint this extraordinary picture properly. Just yesterday, I rode a train down the Nile Valley to Luxor, which was once known as Thebes, the legendary capital of Ancient Egypt's New Kingdom (think Ramesses and Tutankhamun). Now, ... Read more >

Tags: religion; history; culture

Gallery: The Real World, Petra Basin

JORDAN | Thursday, 17 Apr 2008 | Photo Gallery

Roses and the Bedouin Mafia

JORDAN | Sunday, 13 Apr 2008 | Views [1978] | Comments [2]

I think I will add both Petra and Wadi Rum to the short list of Wonders of the World that I've seen. Of course Petra already had official status as such in the latest vote on such Wonders. But it's every bit as incredible as one might think. When a fellow ... Read more >

Tags: desert, petra, wonders of the world

Fresh Carrot Juice in the Hashemite Kingdom

JORDAN | Friday, 4 Apr 2008 | Views [1942] | Comments [2]

Now starting at center midfielder for Real Jordan Rift Valley... Right. I'm in a new country for the first time since I left America. It's different. They don't speak English in Jordan like they do in Israel. It's for the best. My Arabic is still in ... Read more >

Tags: culture, people

Gallery: His Majesty Abdullah II

ISRAEL | Friday, 4 Apr 2008 | Photo Gallery