The Can Says Mum

29.08.2014

Edinburgh, Scotland

I'm in the illustrious Baguette Stuffed. The guy behind the counter remembered me even though it's been well over a year. My taste-buds are alight with the savoury spice  of green chillies and salt n' vinegar crisps. The Edinburgh streets are slick with rain.
It's so good to be home. 

But if you close your eyes...

26.10.2014

Pompei, Italy

Burning, Burning – Everything is on fire.
Ash rains from the sky as the screams from the street slowly die out one by one.
My family, my city – curse the gods.
What did we do to deserve this?
The ash burns my skin.
I'm afraid.
I don't want to die.

My Former Sanctuary

20.10.2012

Berlin, Wisconsin

The water, glassy and deep, rests below the sheer red granite cliff. Quarry two at sunset is a secluded and peaceful man-made piece of private property.
We're trespassing to be here, but the erratic and sloppy graffiti shows that we're not the only ones.
All the same, it's really quite beautiful. 

Scotland Votes Yes (Even Though They Didn't)

17.09.2014

Edinburgh, Scotland

The people chant:

No more Tories!

No more Tories!

There is a contagious sense of pride that's electric in the air.

BBC Where are You?

BBC Shame on You!

I'm not Scottish. This isn't my country, but we want the same thing:

to be in control of our destiny.

An Improvised International Thanksgiving

11.27.2014

Avignon, France

Our turkey is duck. Our croutons were made from baguettes. Our cranberries are red currants. Our rolls are croissants, and our wine is mulled.
Three hours, three additional trips to the store, and three Americans were able to pull off a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner.
So Happy Thanksgiving! Bon Appétit!

The Only Natural Forest in Orkney

27.08.2014

Hoy, Orkney

The journey was treacherous: uneven clumps of Scottish heather that conceal countless pits, fields of ferns taller than me, and a quick moving stream that snakes through the glen. Berriedale Forest, with trees that began life after the last Ice Age, is an impressive web of branches distinctly not Orcadian. 

Starting at the Beginning

03.09.2014

Paris, France

This is the  Île de la Cité. 

The Siene is around me. 

Notre Dame stands before me. 

This star below me is Point Zéro, the beginning of Paris.

Those who stand on this spot are destined to return, and they get a wish.

I want that wish.

I want to find her.

Return to Where I've Never Been

30.10.2014

Marsala, Sicily

I’ve always felt a call for the sea. Now I understand. The water holds an infinite kind of blue that stokes the embers of adventure that are always burning in my soul. This land, this sky, is woven into my DNA. Now I see my homecoming was postponed too long.

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