nothing out of the ordinary

My feline friend looks perfectly comfortable--completely at ease with her candid performance atop the customer's table in this Amsterdam cafe.  Patrons pass through the cozy establishment, as the owners are back in the kitchen preparing small sandwiches and other nibbles.  And this one goes about her business like any other 'ol regular.

The sun is beaming down outside--it's a lovely summer in the Netherlands.  Outside, a warm wave sweeps you away if you let it.  Away into the diversely colored streams of people, all of different languages & origins and yet flowing harmoniously together.  Listen close as the locals speak in their native Dutch tongue--you may not understand what is being said, but the unique words and sounds will captivate you if you let them.  So much intrigue abounds in this corner of the world that the curiousities alone can "elevate" you without the help of any of the famed local delicacies.

You don't need to see it to believe me when I tell you about the endless sea of smiling faces in this wonderfully peculiar place.  You might just come to this conclusion on your own.  I suppose in the city famed for its own special brand of happy-go-lucky anything goes, my feline friend is nothing out of the ordinary.

freelance forever

"...freelance travel writing has been devastated by the internet..."      -http://travelwriters.blogspot.com/

Treading pathways through this rural village near Arenal, Costa Rica I take in the surroundings with admiration for this beautiful, bittersweet reality. I am struck by this local mother/wife/aunt waiting for her purchases from the "good luck" supply store.  As her fatigue shows while she gently drapes herself along the store window, I wonder how lucky she really feels.   

These ones change the mood for a moment.  I cross paths with them a few footsteps walk away from the woman at the supply store.  They make me feel good.  Their smiles are sweet.  Looks of content and happiness in a world so different than my own.  They look like they feel lucky.  What do they know that I don't?  What do they know that the woman at the supply store doesn't?

time travels

So many ways to wear the time. So many ways for time to wear us.

I want to go back in time, when these beauties were first crafted. To speak with the men who wore them down these avenues of Prague. As they busily clammer down the streets, one eye focused on their timepiece while closing the leather strap, the other eye guiding their way to where ever it is they need to be. To hear their tales of time wearing them as it wears me now.

fancy things

Moseying through the busy outdoor market on the tiny city centre streets in Galway, my eyes widen as I gaze onto this handpicked medley of different textures and tastes. All the gorgeous colors drawing me closer...The look of old woman selling her produce takes me back to medieval times...The simple-clothed peasants in the village selling their wares, with the sound of the heavy steps of the mighty King's men and their horses trampling through en route to the Castle. My attention is drawn to the tiny quail eggs. For whom are these little luxuries intended? Isn't it the wealthy elite who always dine on these fancy things? That's what I remember from watching the Tudors, anyway.

a winter walk in budapest

Bundled heavily while strolling down the enormous Andrásy út Boulevard, this tiny blue contraption catches my eye. It is midday and everyone is at work. I peer inside where no one sits, but see a young man blowing in his hands and rubbing them together fiercely to ward off the Budapest winter chill. His white breath parting from his lips, he anxiously inserts his key into the ignition and prays the engine turns over. Judging by the thick layer of snow atop the roof where others are still bare, it seems his prayers have been unanswered and that today getting to work has been done on foot.


Further down the road, the snow starts to fall again. I look up to the sky and wonder how its possible to live many months out of the year in such restrictive weather. I am reminded by these youngsters that the only restrictions we ever truly face are those caused by our own lack of imagination.