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 […]
Get Addicted to Viñales – Tobacco and Rum
In previous posts, Julia already described all the bouncing joy, painful blisters, and occasional aggressive biting of our horseback riding adventures in Viñales. While Julia’s most powerful impressions in Viñales happened on horseback, I found myself awed in the most unexpected of places – a tobacco farm. We arrived in […]
Horseback Riding Day 2: Chocolate Declares War and Loses His Manhood
Please start with Part I here. On the second day in Viñales, I woke up with a dull ache in my legs. “The four hours of horseback riding yesterday certainly left an uncomfortable reminder.” I mused as I waddled to the bathroom. The problem was that my adventures in the […]
Galloping Through Viñales
“Do you know how to ride horses?” our Airbnb host in Viñales asked. “Yes!” I answered without thinking. If I had thought about it, the answer would have been, “Yes, I sat on a horse twice this year while the owner led it up a mountain, so I can enjoy […]
Havana Ooh Na Na
There are two pictures I can show people who want to know the impression Havana left on me, both taken on our very first day, the first few pictures in the city. The first is the view from the balcony of our Airbnb. The second is the inside view of […]
Top 20 Things to Do in Mexico City
As we wrote before, Mexico City is one of our favorite cities. We’ve been there half a dozen times, and every visit we discover something new and fun. Here are our 20 reasons why you should visit. 1. Explore Zocalo and Centro Historico The city’s main square is the most […]
More Money, More Problems
Please start with the previous post, “Money, Money, Money,” where we ask money questions about Cuba, and then continue here, where we answer them. As we were settling into a colectivo (a shared taxi), one of the fellow tourists started rummaging through his backpack. Unable to find what he […]