Scott Clark, of WebsiteAdvice.com, Come On Down!
Relaxing during a slow moment at the cafe, I picked up the WSJ. There a headline made me do a double take…No Virginia it’s not true. “Going Online Isn’t a Must Move for All Entrepreneurs.” Firms flourishing wihout a site say the Work Isn’t Worth It. Harumph! But I had […]
Phil Anschutz, a Reclusive Visionary
I met billionaire Phil Anschutz a few years ago, when I attended the European premier of the CS Lewis movie in Belfast. I remember how the waters parted when the slightly built man entered the reception, and I chatted him up about the next seven movies he’d like to make […]
How Do People Get To Be This Cool?
Reading the NY Times today in the mid April sunlight, I learned about a guy who sounds like the coolest man who ever roamed the earth. His name is Andre…and he holds hip after-parties for artists and other ‘in’ people. He was profiled by a fawning Julia Chapin. “Mr. Saraiva, […]
Give Him a Fishing Net He’ll Learn to Fish, Not Beg
We had a lazy brunch at a placed called B’Shara’s next to Rte 5 in West Springfield today, and I got a chance to read the NY Times. A story about food aid provided an interesting twist…and in the piece former President Bill Clinton admitted to having ‘never thought of […]
The Dirty Truth: A Good Old Honest Beer Bar
Last night I went again down to the big city. It was time to meet Cindy and some other pals at a bar I’ve never been to, but I’ve always admired: The Dirty Truth. This place was originally built as a Pan Asian joint. But they went out of business, […]
Aren’t You Glad You Don’t Ride the Mumbai Train?
India is a magical place, I’ve been told, but also a place where the Malthusian images of overcrowding can be pretty scary. I found out this morning when I read a story in the Wall St. Journal by Eric Bellman about the crowded and deadly commuter trains of Mumbai. He […]
Our Correspondents In France
Today I am working the morning shift at the cafe. The sun struggles to come out, it is still about forty degrees. Ugh. New England is in the midst of a collective sigh. Again. It is fun to pop onto the GoNOMAD blogs and read our travel warriors’ accounts. Sony […]
A Boy, A Sailboat, and a Transatlantic Dream
I read National Geographic Adventure while I waited in my car yesterday, in the crappy gloom that we call New England weather. I found a story about a fourteen-year-old boy from England named Michael Perham who just sailed a 28-foot sailboat called Cheeky Monkey some 3500 miles across the Atlantic. […]
Bringing Back the Videos Killed Video To Go
Yesterday’s Daily Hampshire Gazette had a sad story with an unfunny pun for a headline. “Video to Go to Go Away forever,” and told the story of Kitze McCormick, who started the store in 1984, and it’s been her life ever since. She’s closing down and selling all of her […]
Should U.S. Newspapers Care About Canada?
Edward Wasserman writes in the Miami Herald about how US newspapers are abandoning Canada. It’s a sad comment on the weakness of journalism here, he says. “Amid all the wailing over the decline of U.S. journalism, word that The Washington Post is shutting its Toronto bureau was barely audible. The […]
France Lives Up to a Mighty Reputation
I am in the Air France business lounge negotiating this tough little Euro keyboard, my final post of the trip. I feel lucky to have you, my readers following along as I have experienced this lovely country; it makes any new discovery of mine all the more fun because I […]
Colmar, Home of the Statue of Liberty Artist
Today we woke up in Strasbourg and ended up in Colmar, about 30 minutes south. Alsace, we learned from our guide, is a distinctly proud identity. “People here say they are Alsacien first, then French, or in the years during the wars, German.” This territory has changed hands many times, […]
Walking the Ramparts in Obernai, Alsace
Today we got up early, it was a fitful night’s sleep and these German-style duvets that only cover a single bed leave big gaps where cold air slips in. I glanced at the clock at 4 am, then at 7 got the wake-up call. John Blanchette and I strolled the […]
Tiny Ducks Getting Their Sea Legs
These tiny ducks were following mama on the Ill river in Strasbourg today. It was such a sunny day, everybody was in fine spirits, shopping, strolling and enjoying spring at its finest.
They Took the Windows Out Just in Time
It is a sunny and bright day in Strasbourg, the capital of Frances Alsace region. It is also Saturday, so the streets are full of shoppers and the canals full of boats. At the huge Notre Dame cathedral, we learned that in 1941, the city was evacuated; with the advance […]
Alex Miles Brings Dijon’s Secrets to Life
Alex Miles is a man I won’t soon forget. We met this fascinating, articulate and curious fellow in Dijon, he was with the tourism board rep and took us around the city on our tour. With a short stature, a shaved bald head, and a penchant for details, he was […]
