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 […]

Itinerary Hell: I Hate It Here, I am Never Coming Back!

By Julia / January 23, 2020

One of my very first trips, straight out of college, was a group tour around Europe with my best friends.  We were completely inexperienced in international travel, the Internet wasn’t really as useful back then as it is now, and we had no idea how even to start planning something […]

Perfect Pitch – Jazz and Baseball in Japan

By Victor / December 17, 2019

If someone tells you that they experienced jazz and baseball on their trip, would you be able to correctly identify the country? If you guessed the U.S., try again! I am talking about Japan. The Japanese are passionate about jazz and baseball. The American presence after World War II left […]

Portugal: And This Is Why We Don’t Drink

By Victor / December 11, 2019

We rarely drink alcohol.  Julia claims that she is too much fun as is and that alcohol would be wasted on her. I like to keep my head clear and maintain a healthy lifestyle. When we are in the U.S., we don’t drink at all.  But when we travel, we […]

The Places We Go and The Places We Stay

By Victor / December 4, 2019

If I ever decide to run for a political office, I will take an unconventional step of having Airbnb provide my character references. A quick glance at our Airbnb guest review page will quickly demonstrate what an honest, punctual, clean, quiet, and non-intrusive person I am. It really sounds like […]

A Night in the Cemetery – Picnic with Ghosts in San Andres Mixquic, Mexico

By Julia / November 26, 2019

Continuing from the previous post: Day of the Dead in Mexico – This is not Disney’s Coco. After the Day of the Dead parade was over, we grabbed a few tortas and coffee at a local restaurant to warm up.  It was 5 pm, and the weather was turning again […]

Day of the Dead in Mexico – This is Not Disney’s Coco

By Julia / November 19, 2019

We had conversations for years about visiting Mexico on the Day of the Dead (Dia de Los Muertos) but wanted to wait until celebrations fell on the weekend.  Finally, in early 2019, we bought tickets to Morelia and excitedly started planning the trip.  Around Lake Patzcuaro, an hour from Morelia, […]

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