Archive for February 2020
Quarantine – a word comes full circle
I’ve always loved history and etymology, so not surprising I was attracted to both elements with the word quarantine. The English word quarantine comes from the Italian term ‘quarantena’. The term derives from the number ‘quaranta’ – meaning forty. During the period of the Bubonic Plague, or Black Death, that spread around Europe from the…
Read MoreDreaming of white beaches and warm waves … in the Maldives
This has become a bit of a February tradition for me. Every February, I like to write some travel post that allows me to dream of warmer climes. So I’m reaching back to reminisce about a trip almost five years ago to the Indian Ocean paradise of the Maldives. This has been a mild winter…
Read MoreA political writer by default
“If you live in a country where politics are oppressive and you write—or try to write—you can’t avoid being a political writer.” —Josef Škvorecký Insightful words from Czech author relocated to Canada, Josef Škvorecký. I read a lot of Škvorecký, in both English and Czech, when I was living and working in Prague after the…
Read MoreGdansk’s stunning Długi Targ and Ulica Długa
A few months ago I made my first visit to the northern Polish city of Gdansk. The city is beautiful, and a walk around the city center allows you to admire the spectacular architecture. Nowhere is the richness more on display than the central streets of Długi Targ and Ulica Długa. Długi Targ begins from…
Read MoreBook review: Park Avenue Summer
I enjoyed White Collar Girl, an earlier Renée Rosen novel I read, so I was interested when I saw Park Avenue Summer. This is the story of 1960s Manhattan, and a new generation of young women working to carve out lives and careers for themselves in the Big Apple. Alice Weiss is a young woman…
Read MoreCanalside living in Milan’s Navigli
When I was a student earning my Master’s degree, I lived in Milan, in its picturesque canal district in the city’s south: the Navigli. I loved my time there, I loved the busy nightlife as the bars and restaurants came alive after dark. I loved the silence of early weekend mornings, and even the way…
Read MoreMarguerite Yourcenar’s gender-balanced approach to evil
“Human wickedness is almost equally distributed between the two sexes.” —Marguerite Yourcenar Interesting words from Belgian-born, naturalized American author and essayist Marguerite Yourcenar (1903-1987). Yourcenar is the first woman to have been elected to Académie française, and is perhaps best known for her novel Memoirs of Hadrian. I’ve never been a fan of the “Believe…
Read MoreA Milanese landmark since the 4th century – San Ambrogio
I used to live in Milan many years ago. While everyone knows Milan’s famous Duomo, and I never fail to visit when I’m back, I also made a point to get back to my second favorite Milanese church on my last visit. San Ambrogio. San Ambrogio is a must of any trip to Milan. San…
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