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 […]
I Fell in Love With a Dog in Tbilisi
Someone once asked me what was the most romantic, poignant, heartbreaking thing that happened in all my travels. I told them the truth – once upon a time, I fell in love with a dog in Tbilisi. I was sitting on a bench, and she walked up to me, large […]
Following the Musical Trail (U.S. South)
When we travel, we rarely have a “theme” for our trips. Usually, we simply show up in a country or region and explore everything it has to offer. But in summer 2008, we drove through three southern U.S. states (Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana), exploring sites associated with rock-n-roll, blues, and […]
Wallonia: Discovering Undiscovered Belgium
We love Belgium! Despite its tiny size, the country packs a lot, and spending eight days there was barely enough to scratch the surface. Roughly the size of Maryland, Belgium has three very distinct regions: Dutch-speaking Flanders in the north, French-speaking Wallonia in the south, and the capital city of […]
Poland: Blast From My Soviet Past
Please start with Part I of My Solo Polish Travels Here When Belarus very unceremoniously refused me entry, I thought my memory trip back to the U.S.S.R. was over. As strange as it might seem, I was actually looking forward to rude serving staff, late buses, and angry janitorial staff […]
Жыве Беларусь! Belarus Fights for Freedom. We Need Your Help!
Today will be a different kind of post, as for the last five days, I have been waking up in a different kind of world. Those who follow this travel blog know that I was born and grew up in Belarus. It’s more than the country of my birth and […]
Me, Myself, and I: Traveling Solo Through Poland
To begin understanding why I was alone in Poland, please start with the previous post “Back to U.S.S.R.”, a story of pain, betrayal, and Belarus. I disembarked the plane in Warsaw after a 9-hour flight, my backpack pressing heavily against my back, my crumpled itinerary sheet in hand. I stood […]