Hiking Adventures in the San Francisco Peninsula and Beyond
My first visit to Pisa was in 1988, part of a 2-week bus tour, starting (and ending) in Rome, with overnight stops in Florence, Stresa (on the gorgeous Lake Maggiore), Venice, Assisi, and Sorrento. I was with my grandparents, then in their late 50s. Whether either of them accompanied me on the climb to the … Continue reading Pisa
In many places, where to go for a morning run is not self-evident. In others, it could not be more clear. In New York City, it’s Central Park, on a gorgeous, fresh, August morning after a torrential downpour. In Washington, D.C., it’s the Mall, climbing and then rounding Capitol Hill before sunrise, with the Washington … Continue reading Lucca
For the most part, Trastevere, meaning beyond the Tiber, is a solidly residential neighborhood. Standing on my balcony, above the leafy Via Portuense, with Rome whizzing below, I pondered my limited options for a morning run, perhaps the best way to experience a new city. Run northwest, toward the iconic Piazza di Santa Maria, and … Continue reading Rome
Art imitates life, and vice versa. Standing on one of the many terraces of Hase-dera (736) (http://www.hasedera.jp/en/), in Kamakura, a sleepy seaside town about an hour south of Tokyo, in Kanagawa Prefecture, I could not help but think of the atmospheric woodblock prints of Hokusai and imagine the confluence of meteorological events giving rise to … Continue reading Kamakura
Not a day goes by that I am not reminded of Tokyo. Let me explain. The Pilot Juice Up 0.3mm retractable gel pen is surgical. I purchased two, and replacement ink, from a store in the Odaiba Mall facing Tokyo Bay. At only ¥200, I should have bought more. This Juice Up (other versions exists) … Continue reading Tokyo On My Mind
Call me a bibliophile. Libraries (Suzzallo, University of Washington, pictured above) are exotic bazaars. So are bookstores. Picture Blackwell’s on Broad Street in Oxford (which I visited while on a coach tour and, as luck would have it, had not more than twenty minutes to explore), Powell’s City of Books in downtown Portland, or City … Continue reading Ode to Books
The Peninsula Hiking Club 