On to Schwäbisch Hall
July 18, 2022. I slept in till 10. It took me a while to get moving—washing clothes, showering, making breakfast and lunch, clearing out the car, tidying up the house. […]
Along the Neckar
July 16, 2022. I woke up to a cool morning, a refreshing change after the heat of the previous days. It’s been sweltering, with temperatures in the 80s and 90s […]
Leaving Bonn
July 12, 2022. I woke around 9 having slept poorly due to worry. I’d been tossing and turning thinking about the two months remaining and had no idea how I […]
On to Germany
July 4, 2022. Today was a slow start—I woke at 10 and headed to breakfast, where Coosje and I talked for a few minutes. I thanked her for her kindness, […]
Exploring Eibergen
July 1, 2022. Given that I hadn’t gone to sleep till 1 a.m., I had a better sleep than expected. I woke with a start, worried Roel and Coosje were […]
Brussels to Eibergen
June 29, 2022. Another bad night sleep. This time chocolate was the culprit. After only three hours of sleep, I rolled out of bed at 8:45, went to my favorite […]
Wandering Through Bruges
June 26, 2022. After breakfast with my friends, I packed up for Bruges—well, almost. I made it halfway to the car before realizing the keys were still back at the […]
Ghent, Belgium
June 22, 2022. Even though it was hot and I hadn’t slept well, we had had a special solstice watching the sunset and I was grateful to be here. Hendrik […]
Reims to Ghent
June 20, 2022. Exhausted from the past few days, I slept in and didn’t wake up until 10. I set off to find a sunshade, a pillow, and some groceries—just […]
Dinan to Reims
June 16, 2022. The place we were staying at was lovely—peaceful, green, and full of character. I wandered around the yard in the morning and ended up chatting with a […]
Chichester to Dinan
June 13, 2022. Tension between Shawn and I carried over from the night before. I woke knowing Shawn wanted more time to see the Roman villa and offered to ask […]
Bath and the Cotswalds
June 11, 2022. We woke up to a really nice breakfast at our place—surprisingly good, especially considering it was included in the price of our hotel, which was very reasonable […]
Across the Channel to Cornwall
June 8, 2022. I woke at 7am after three hours of sleep and felt miserable—my cold was worse, and my body protested every movement. We left late, at 7:30, and […]
Landudec to Commana
June 4, 2022. I regretted having to retrace my steps for the forgotten pillows. My anxiety manifested as a nightmare. I dreamt I had slept through my alarm and not […]
Locoal-Mendon to Landudec
June 1, 2022. I had a nice chat with our hostess over breakfast. My French was steadily improving, and I enjoyed understanding more nuance. She and her husband were wooden […]
Rennes to Carnac
May 24, 2022. Bretagne Rules the Waves. A punny reference to “Rule Brittania, Brittania Rules the Waves”, a patriotic British song oft heard at Dickens Faire. The names “Brittany” (French: […]
Remembering Brian
Brian Stoll met me slogging up the road toward Boquete Tree Trek Mountain Resort. I’d been walking about 40 minutes when I heard a car approach, and not thinking he […]
Gay Paris
May 16, 2022. This was my first time in Paris as an adult. My experience as a 5 year old on our European camping trip doesn’t count. All I remember […]
Southwest Coast of Costa Rica
May 3, 2023. I hadn’t planned to wake at the crack of dawn, but knew I had to wake early as it could take much of the day to go […]
Back to Boquete
April 29 – May 2, 2023, Panama. I had hurt my knee in Bocas del Toro and was worried I wouldn’t be able to continue with the trip. It had […]
On to Boquete
March 30, 2023. My benefactors headed north through terrible roads which required a 4 wheel drive, and for two hours we wound our way down the hill and along the […]
El Valle de Anton
March 25, 2023, Panama. I was in Panama City, standing in line for the bus to El Valle de Anton. A woman in line said her brother had a house […]
Panama City
March 14, 2023. I arrived at my local airport in San Jose, CA with a few hours to kill. I was feeling sad about leaving home, and Shawn was kind […]
My friend Chris
I arrived back home Sept 19 to a whirlwind of activity: trying to find a new housemate by October 1, unpacking, cleaning, major yard work, seeing some old friends, and […]
The Enchanted Caravan
The first Friday in January for many years, I attended Nancy Mellon’s storytelling weekend at the Peck’s. This particular January, she had asked us to write a fairy tale showing […]
My letter on behalf of Ushguli, Georgia
March 17 2016 To whom it may concern: I am writing concerning the Chazhashi village within the Ushguli community, referenced by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/709. […]
My Inner Winter
Last night I was lulled to sleep by the rain. I usually can’t sleep without earplugs. Hearing rain rather than traffic reawakened my childhood desire to live closer to nature. […]
Winter Solstice
I have news for you: the stag bellsWinter snows,wind high and cold,the sun low, short its courseThe sea running highDeep red the bracken, its shape is lostThe wild goose has […]
Francis Flowers & Herbs Farm
I have held off writing until I finished my summer European travel log, but am no closer to starting that. So I will instead tell you about Mark, who together […]
Hungary to Slovenia
June 18, 2018. I awoke in the outskirts of Amstetten, Austria, within a stone’s throw of a sign indicating that this was a biologically sensitive area. On my way to […]
Austria
June 12, 2018. I had to repack the tiny Citroen, which took two hours. It’s amazing how much longer it takes when you have a small space. Everything has to […]
Budapest and Bratislava
June 4, 2018. I arrived in Budapest the day of my dental appointment with Dr. Windisch, an implant specialist whom I’d found several years earlier when I was in Greece […]
Six Days in Oahu
Thursday May 13, 2021 – I’d been jonesing to be anywhere but home for over a year. COVID had been particularly hard on me, as I am migratory. I had […]
My Misadventures
I’d been dreading my dental visit to Loveland, Colorado for weeks. Not the dental part, but getting there and back. Being a penny pincher, I planned to drive, but after […]
Reflecting on the Civil Rights Struggle
I haven’t written a proper piece for years. I told myself I had to finish my travel blog from the summer of 2018 when, in the beginning of my travels, […]
Portugal
May 25, 2018. Having driven across the Minho River to Valença, I headed back to Tui, a charming village with narrow cobbled streets only a stone’s throw away across the […]
Basque Country to Galicia
May 18, 2018. I woke to the chill sea air of Donostia-San Sebastián (aka San Sebastián), and broke camp quickly so I wouldn’t be discovered. As I drove into town, […]
Pyrenees
May 14, 2018. I woke on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees in Bielsa after a cold night. I had stayed in a nice place and took my first shower […]
Haute-Garonne
May 3, 2018. It was a crazy day. I was behind in packing, even though I’d started weeks before, and was glad Shawn was giving me a ride. He helped […]
Choice of Charities
The following is a list of charities to whom I hope to contribute at some point: No More DeathsHaiti Action CommitteeKPFANever Ending FoodAristide foundation for democracyHaiti Emergency Relief FundZavala’s Political […]
Lisa Karpinski 