When I first went to Paris, I was struck by the beauty of this city. I was also amazed at how many boats I saw. Before I went I read about its history and about the things to see, food to taste and museums to visit. But being one who has spent a lot of time on boats, I was really surprised that I had not seen anything written about, or photos of, all the boats. Walking along the Seine I saw numerous vessels and wondered where they all came from. … [Read more...]
In Search of Dracula and Gothic Legends
At the foot of the mountain pass, tips of Gothic turrets and towers loom into sight above the stretch of dense evergreen which nestle between the Bucegi and Piatra Craiului Mountains. Having driven, (and survived!) through the Romanian winding roads since early dawn, the clouds now reveal a dramatic backdrop of ancient forests and mountain peaks. When the castle finally comes into view, distant memories of late-night films fill the impending … [Read more...]
BASQUE CASE: Separation Anxiety in the Pyrenees
“Before God was God and boulders were boulders, Basques were already Basques.” --Basque proverb A merry little trip to the Basque Country, an autonomous utopia containing a bit of both France and Spain is like trying to find the original site of the Garden of Eden, which Basques claim might be hidden in their unrecognized “country”: Euskadi! Inching along in your rented Renault time machine on the high mountain passes through the … [Read more...]
5 unmissable East German sites in Berlin
The history of the city of Berlin is absolutely fascinating, in no small part due to the period comprised between 1961 and 1989, which is when the city was divided by the terrible wall. If you're interested in history and want to find out some unbelievable stories, here are five places related to them that you cannot miss during your trip to Berlin. The fascination for everything East German is one of the main reasons why hundreds of thousands … [Read more...]
How to Brave the Budapest Baths
Spa guy John M. Edwards feels frigging fantastic! If you're in Magyarorstag (Hungary), do as the Daubians do: Say goodbye to "bliss" and splash around au Naturale in the "eau de vie" of a real thermal spa, with a Red Bull in Hand... When you first arrive in Budapest for both (clandestine) “business and pleasure”-- feeling like a dumb foreign doppelganger soaking with sweat and stinking of brimstone--say no to the Four Seasons Hotel showers and … [Read more...]
Cuisine Minceur: Eat, Pay, More
John M. Edwards explores the popular Foodie movement of “Cuisine Minceur” (small food), invented in Les Landes, France, wherein gullible gourmands counting calories get much less food for much more money. . . . I feel sorry for the people who use the term “FOODIE.” It is a term less about the ends justifying the means and more about just being mean. Whenever I hear the euphemism, I flinch involuntarily, as when your PC (“pretend … [Read more...]
Spain: Help, Help me Ronda!
John M. Edwards gets vertigo and yells help in a lofty Andalusian precipice town where Walt Disney’s family supposedly originally came from. . . . Away from the ugly urbanization of Spain’s Costa del Sol, along scenic Highway 44, I arriveD in my leased “Europe by Car” vehicle via Marbella to Ronda, one of the most beautiful villas blancos (“white villages”) in the Andalusian countryside. Perched, this improbably fantastic nest persists on … [Read more...]
Zell, Germany
Black Katz and Tiny Bubbles Ahhh, the hills are alive...no, that’s Julie Andrews and Austria. Black cats and voodoo dolls…no, that’s Ricky Martin and Miami. Tiny bubbles...no that’s Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra or somebody. I do know we were sitting at an outdoor café along the hills of the Moselle River. There were black katz on every bottle of wine we tasted. In fact, every signpost and even the hills boasted pictures of black katz. No … [Read more...]
Unbridled: A Memoir
After my divorce, I needed to travel, to go on a journey to find myself. What better place to start than Ireland, home of my ancestors? During my trip I found images and parts of me that I didn't know existed. I found them in the faces and personalities all around me; in their laughter and ability to laugh at themselves; in the scenery; the castles and cottages; in the weather- stormy and changeable like myself; in the roads: driving on the … [Read more...]
Beirut in the Baltics
John M. Edwards is drawn into the Wild Wild East of “Europe Minor.” After the collapse of communism in the USSR, inflation in the freshly minted Baltic republics of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia rolled up the ruble into the cheapest toilet paper around, so I decided to go East and stock up. I needed a cheap place to wipe my ass because I was then unemployed, and an Orwellian year of freelancing in Paris had left me as restless … [Read more...]
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