I am a big fan of putting things away. I even like putting away Christmas decorations, and if it’s been a bad Christmas, I’m not as gentle. This is the beginning of our German denouement, and soon, my sabbatical denouement…. Read More ›
travel
Dick Mack’s
I finally had my quintessential Irish pub moment today: a windy, misty Sunday in Dingle. Dawn and Charlotte went back to the B&B in hopes that Charlotte would nap there, which left me and Lily on our own down in… Read More ›
Go Mall
We are in Irish-speaking country now, on the north side of county Kerry, near the ever-popular “Ring of Kerry,” which we will avoid. “Go Mall” means slow down in Irish, and it’s painted on the roads in many places. Despite… Read More ›
The Burren
Dawn said with photography, you have take the picture right when you see it – otherwise, if you wait and try to do it later, the light is different. The same may be true with writing. When I was working… Read More ›
The Buten
I spent most of today picking grapes in a nearby village. It hasn’t rained here in two months really, but it rained like hell while we were on the steep slopes with our buckets and clippers. Our friend Uwe has… Read More ›
The Pleasure Principle
I downloaded this album by Gary Numan for our trip to Paris this week and we listened to it on my laptop, in the hotel. With the lights out, the window ajar, and the iTunes visualizer on, this was one… Read More ›
Les Bres in Metz
This weekend, we drove to Metz (France) to visit our friends Laurent and Nanou. They live in a two-bedroom apartment with their three kids, cat, and French bulldog. The kids are 9, 3 and 18 months. Needless to say, add… Read More ›
Cannstatter Volksfest
Last night I met up with our police friend Eberhard and visited the second-largest beer festival in the world, the Cannstatter Volksfest. It’s a 35 hectare fair area set on the banks of the Neckar river, with about six tents… Read More ›
Englischer Garten
Just got back from my second overnight trip to Munich: spent the night with a former boss of mine. He’s working with Starbucks again as an operations coach, or consultant, to help the stores in the south improve. When I… Read More ›
Dachau
As a show of moral conviction, I was seriously thinking about a visit to the concentration camp here, to balance out my weekend of beer and excess. 15 years ago, on my first trip to Munich, my girlfriend wanted to… Read More ›
Bill Pearse 