The Land of Those Who Face Water From A Cliff (aka San Diego)

San Diego, named for Diego de San Nicolás by the Spaniards, was the first spot visited by Europeans on the West Coast of the United States. As you probably already guessed, Native Americans had been there wayyyy before 1542–the Kumeyaay people to be exact. Kumeyaay translates to “those who face the water from a cliff.”…

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Zurich, Quite a Pretty Little City

Welcome to beautiful Zurich, Switzerland’s largest city. Even though I only experience about 24 hours of this beautiful spot, I’d jump at the opportunity to go back. They city of Zurich sits perched atop Lake Zurich (which happens to look quite a bit like a banana from above). Many boats and swans bob about in…

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Switzerland is One Part Fairy Tale, One Part Inspiration for Artists

The Rhine River, originating in the Swiss Alps, flows through Germany and the Netherlands, emptying into the North Sea. Along the way, you’ll find Rhine Falls. Located on the boarder of Schaffhausen and Zürich, it is the largest waterfall in all of Europe. In the photo below you can see two separate falls, divided by a rock…

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Have Your Very Own Escher Experience

I recently visited the Escher: The Exhibition and Experience at Industry City in Brooklyn. This fantastic show includes over 200 original works by the artist along with interactive displays where you can become a part of the art. If you’re unfamiliar with the name M. C. Escher, perhaps you’ve seen some of his works. The…

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Not All Art Shows Are Curated Equal. That’s Why You Have to Check Out The Hilma af Klint Exhibit at The Guggenheim.

For many years, the Swedish, female talent (whose works are on display at the Guggenheim in New York at this very moment) was unknown to most of the art world. It wasn’t until the 1980s, almost 40 years after her death, that she became internationally known. Hilma af Klint, it turns out, was among the first of…

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Lausanne, Switzerland

As I mentioned in the previous post, Eamon and I flew early morning from Paris to Geneva, then immediately took a train to Lausanne, spent a few hours wandering around there, hopped back on the train to Geneva, walked around there for a few hours, and then boarded a late flight back to Paris that…

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What lengths are you willing to take to save a little travel dough?

If there is one thing I know for a fact about Switzerland, it’s that this country is expensive! In hopes of getting around paying bundles of cash on a hotel room for a night, we booked a hotel for 5 nights in Paris on points, took a budget airline early morning from Paris to Geneva, then…

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Snow Day in Kansas City, MO

It recently poured snow in Kansas City a few days ago, giving me my first opportunity to see this little town blanketed in winter goodness. The streets were pretty empty, leaving the snow basically pristine (a sight I rarely ever saw in Chicago). We celebrated the snow-weekend like a couple of no good millennials who pay…

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checkin’ a few more items off the good ole gotta-do-this-before-I-die list (2018 edition)

It’s that time of year again–when we take stock of big events and personal hurdles. I find it encouraging and exciting to go back through the last 365 days come the first of every January. If you couldn’t already tell, my current pass times of choice are travel, art, music, as well as good food…

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Sometimes You End Up In A Medieval City On Accident

On the drive back from Brugge to Brussels, we randomly stopped in Ghent. This charming city is the 2nd largest city in the country. Much of the Medieval architecture still stands, a testament to its golden age. If we had planned better, I would have allotted more time there, but I was happy to wander…

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