Tag: travel

More on Pintxos

Pintxos are small portions of food, called tapas in other parts of Spain. You can have hot or cold pintxos. Some are on skewers, others on French bread. They’re often inexpensive, because the bar makes most of its profit on alcoholic beverages. Here’s a spread of pintxos we got at one of the oldest bars …

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Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2022/04/24/more-on-pintxos/

Never Been to Spain…

Until now. A more appropriate question might be, what took us so long? We’re in San Sebastian, the heart of Basque country. The Basques may be the oldest civilization in Europe, with a distinct language that bears no resemblance to other tongues in Europe or elsewhere. San Sebastian and Bilbao were industrialized cities in an …

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Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2022/04/23/never-been-to-spain/

Easter in Paris

Easter is a big deal in Paris. It’s a religious holiday, and the kids are out of school tomorrow. Today’s a big deal for me as well, as it was 40 years ago today when I was nearly killed in an auto accident. Most years the day goes by without my remembering, but this year …

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Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2022/04/17/easter-in-paris/

Unplugged – Sort Of

Because I haven’t had more than a week of vacation per year in the last two years, I decided to be offline from work for the duration of this break. I told a coworker that I should only be contacted via my home email if there’s a zombie apocalypse or similar disaster at work. How’s …

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Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2022/04/13/unplugged-sort-of/

The Paris and Pintxos Tour

The countdown has begun! T minus 12 days until we leave for a twice-Covid-canceled trip to Europe. The original itinerary (France and Italy) has been changed to France and Spain. The plans for this trip have been in the works almost since we canceled last year. Julian managed to get us almost-reasonable plane fares and …

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Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2022/03/28/the-paris-and-pintxos-tour/

Bittersweet Homecoming

I’m back east for my mother’s graveside service on Wednesday. Everything was arranged by my sister and niece, all I had to do was fly back.Flying these days is even more of a slog than it was before Covid-19. It’s not just the masking, other “details” have been added to maximize your misery. Airport security …

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Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2021/05/24/bittersweet-homecoming-2/

Vegas Again

I’m attending the Cornell Alumni Leadership Conference this weekend. For a change, the meeting is west of the other Washington (DC): Las Vegas. Granted, Vegas is not my favorite city, but I feel the need to see my classmates and other friends. And if Cornell’s going to have the meeting that’s more accessible from Seattle, …

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Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2020/02/21/vegas-again/

Five Things Americans Can Teach the French

In the last post I listed five things Americans can learn from the French. This post lists five things Americans can teach the French. Integrate your immigrants into society. These people have much to offer an aging workforce. Shuffling them into ugly suburbs called banlieues with little opportunity is counterproductive, given the violence that’s occurred …

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Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/09/27/five-things-americans-can-teach-the-french/

A Philosophy of Hotels

When we’re just traveling from point A to point B and need a place to flop for the night, our requirements are simple: Clean, comfortable, quiet, and convenient. Cheap doesn’t hurt, either. Free Wi-Fi is essential, especially for blog and email purposes. Complementary companion animals, i.e., insects, are NOT welcome. We once stayed at a …

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Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/10/12/a-philosophy-of-hotels/

Final Stop

The last two days of our trip were spent in Lyon, the third largest city in France. Unlike the bastides, the architecture of Lyon dates to the Renaissance and later. Unlike in Paris, more modern skyscrapers have encroached closer to the center city. However, it’s a vary charming town. We stayed in a hotel on …

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Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/06/19/final-stop/

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