Posts by Kimberly Sullivan
The doors of Essaouira, Morocco
I’ll definitely focus a future post on the picture-perfect coastal city of Essaouira, in central Morocco, with its impressive walls, its position as an outpost on the Atlantic, its windy coastline, and its past as a Portuguese colony. But today, I want to concentrate primarily on the colorful doors of Essaouira. This is one of…
Read MoreWriting advice from Umberto Eco
Finchè un’idea che hai in testa non viene messa sulla pagina non puoi capire se hai un filo logico. Until the idea you’ve had in your head gets placed down on the page, it’s impossible to determine if it has a logical thread to it. -Umberto Eco (1932-2016) The great Italian novelist, Umbert Eco, died last month. Eco…
Read MoreEarly morning jogs on the beach of Agadir, Morocco
Last week, work found me in the coastal Moroccan city of Agadir, to the country’s south. It was my first time to this city, which was destroyed by an earthquake in 1960 and rebuilt in a new and modern style. The beach is lined with hotels and the straight,white lines of the modern town have…
Read MoreTime for writing reflection on the slopes
I often manage a week-long skiing escape with my kids in February. This year, I couldn’t manage a whole week, but we did squeeze in a long weekend on the slopes near Rome. This hasn’t been a great snow winter, and our long weekend included some wet days and lots of poor visibility… where we could…
Read MoreCrossing the Dubai Creek on an abra
The abra is fun to watch as it crosses from one side of the Dubai Creek to the other, from Bur Dubai to Deira. The abra is a traditional boat made of wood that serves as a water taxi. The crossing costs 1 dirham, and is paid on board to the ferry captain. We had…
Read MoreJane Austen was autistic?
I was reading an interesting New Yorker article that was reviewing a new book on the history of autism. In the article, they spoke about how much has changed even in recent years about our understanding of autism. There was also a short section on famous artists, musicians and authors we now believe may have…
Read MoreVisiting the idyllic Rožmberk nad Vltavou Castle, Czech Republic
The little town of Rožmberk nad Vltavou is a small down in southern Bohemia, close to the Austrian border and situated along the Vltava (Moldau) River. It is only a few kilometers of the pretty town of Český Krumlov, and looks like a miniature version of that town. The most famous monument in the town –…
Read MoreFavorite reads so far for 2016
I’m always pleased to get a good reading start to the new year. Luckily, despite a few duds, 2016 has started out quite well for me as a reading year. Here are my favorites so far (and I’m hoping there will be many more): The Last Summer Judith Kinghorn I enjoyed this atmospheric story, a…
Read MoreKafka’s castle? Frýdlant, Czech Republic
If you’re in northern Czech Republic, just beyond Liberec and close to the Polish border, you’ll want to see the dramatic Frýdlant Castle in the little town of Frýdlant that is dominated by its hilltop castle. This is said to have been the castle that inspired Franz Kafka’s famous novel The Castle. Following the Battle of…
Read MoreDo you give up on authors after one bad book?
I didn’t actually think that I did this, but I recently realized I tend to throw up my hands in frustration and not read authors anymore after one of their books disappoints me. This doesn’t mean just that a book’s not my favorite within an author’s oeuvre. But if I’ve dedicated a significant amount of time…
Read More