Hiking Adventures in the San Francisco Peninsula and Beyond
Floyen, Bergen, Norway It is unfortunate that the act of learning and mastering a new language is generally viewed as a chore and not an opportunity. As for me, the first new language I learned was English, starting my formal (and informal) studies soon after I arrived in the United States in 1979, from the … Continue reading The Accidental Polyglot
It's early November, a few days after the US elections, uncertainty in the air. Indian Summer is over in Northern California, and Fall is finally in the air, cool, sometimes windy, with Winter right around the corner. While 2021 is still a few months away, it is always useful to think ahead, to set goals … Continue reading Motivation Theory (and Practice)
Fish sculpture This fish, comprised of ocean trash, caught my eye in downtown Bandon. I have always been sensitive to the health of the ocean, but this sculpture brought the reality home. An important message can be lost without the right presentation. Comments welcomed.
It is a tough time to be a travel writer. As a baker needs flour, so does a travel writer need fresh sights, smells, sounds, experiences, inspiration. Of course, writing about past adventures is an option. For example, I could tell you about a brilliant day last autumn, cool morning, warm afternoon, mild evening, starting … Continue reading Spanish Steps
Friends, I am considering a number of topics for new posts, including Indian Summer (in Northern California) and reflections on trips to Switzerland. What is your vote? Thank you.
In the past months, sports has been reduced to a popcorn pop off or a competition between two ripening bananas, as evidenced from the most recent episode of Saturday Night Live, the “at-home” edition. The National Basketball Association was (and perhaps may still be) considering a remote “H-O-R-S-E” tournament. Local sportscasters, desperate for new footage, … Continue reading Why Sports (and Travel) Matter
Montecatini Alto, part of a 3-day visit to Tuscany last October, could not be farther from the current reality of 24-hour catastrophe TV, coronavirus memes, no live sports, shelter-in-place (house arrest), new (home-based) co-workers, distance learning (Zoom videoconferences and Google Hangouts Chat), social distancing (isolation), deep cleaning (usually reserved for unpleasant dental visits), hyper-local (neighborhood-based) … Continue reading Montecatini Alto
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
If I cannot travel, I might as well reminisce. Viareggio is a quintessentially Italian seaside town on the Tyrrhenian, equidistant from Pisa and Lucca (https://johnpavolotsky.wordpress.com/2019/11/30/lucca/), our base for a 3-day visit to Tuscany this past October. The vibe is art deco. A certain timelessness pervades Viareggio; it seems that little has changed, and but for … Continue reading Viareggio
37,000 feet above the Atlantic, half asleep, nursing a recalcitrant head cold, Venice, the first stop on our 10-day Italian vacation, could not have been farther away. Nonetheless, I persevered, willing my way through the ten hour flight, layover in Frankfurt, short flight to Venice, longer transfer via the Alilaguna water bus to San Zaccaria, … Continue reading Venice
The Peninsula Hiking Club 