Pottery for Pets

I woke up the next morning with my heart fluttering. It was the first day of my pottery retreat. I threw on older clothes I didn’t mind getting dirty with clay and hurried outside. I hadn’t really seen the courtyard the night before. We arrived after dark, when little was […]

First Lesson. Rishton.

It was late evening, and we had just arrived at the pottery studio of one of the most famous ceramic artists in Uzbekistan. We were exhausted and sweaty and weren’t sure if our long day of travel was over or if we would now need to look for alternative accommodation. […]

Getting There.  Rishton.

I’ve been talking about doing a pottery retreat for a long time – somewhere I can learn new skills, work with different types of clay and glazing techniques, get some fresh ideas for my craft.  It was always “one day” and “wouldn’t it be cool” type of idea.  I might […]

A Long-Overdue Affair: The Wisconsin State Fair

Last year, it finally happened. I went to the Wisconsin State Fair! Although I had lived in the state for over a decade, for whatever reason, I’d never made it to the festival grounds in West Allis until last year. Ironically, it took me to move out of Wisconsin to […]

Chicago: Keeping the Blues Alive

Today is a special day in Chicago: Buddy Guy celebrates his 90th birthday.  Although we are currently busy writing posts about Uzbekistan, this milestone-and America’s 250th year-makes it the perfect moment to celebrate one of the country’s greatest musical traditions: the blues. At his birthday bashes, Buddy Guy usually tells […]

Julia and Victor and The Chocolate Factory

By Julia / June 28, 2023

We have been to a lot of coffee tours all around the world – Jamaica, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, and a fair share of brewery and distillery tours in Mexico and the U.S., but in Grenada, we got our first chance ever to tour a chocolate factory.  In fact, […]

The Miracle on the Beach

By Julia / June 22, 2023

We were on one of the most beautiful beaches in Grenada, sitting on a wooden picnic bench table, listening to the rhythmic sound of waves splashing against the shore.   We were not concerned with the breathtaking view of islands in the water or the empty stretch of beautiful white sand, […]

Liming in Grenada

By Julia / June 15, 2023

“Grenada, the island in the Caribbean, not Spain,” was how I kept answering inquiries about our next trip.  The whole thing reminded me a bit of the “Georgia, the country, not the state” fiasco from a few years ago.  And still, hardly anyone knew what I was talking about.  Somehow, […]

Cruising Down the Streets of Havana

By Victor / June 9, 2023

After writing nine posts about Cuba earlier this year, we thought we were done with our stories from the island.  But to be honest, it would be unfair not to describe the most touristy thing we did while there.  Learning about the U.S.-organized invasion at the Bay of Pigs or […]

In Search of Haggis – One Day in Scotland

By Julia / June 1, 2023

All the way back in 2009, we spent one day in Scotland, and I have wanted to go back ever since.  This was an impromptu trip to the U.K. brought about by a random airline price mistake – $250 for a nonstop roundtrip from Chicago to London in the spring.  […]

All You Can Eat: The Great China Buffet

By Julia / May 18, 2023

On our first day in Beijing, we woke up at 5 am in our hotel room, jet-lagged from the long flight and starving.  I tried to fall back asleep and wake up at a more reasonable hour, but the growling from my stomach was too loud to ignore. “Do you […]

Subscribe to receive our stories in your inbox

Loading