Amanda – Llywindatravels 2022

I Become a Grandmother

Of course, I knew the baby was coming, I just didn’t think she would arrive four weeks early. Amanda very carefully arranged her four weeks pre-natal leave, went to her last day of work on a Monday, and her water broke that night. Best laid plans, and all that. The process of having the babyContinue reading “I Become a Grandmother”

The Great Platypus Hunt

Jonathan and I saw a platypus in a darkened display (they are nocturnal) at the Healesville sanctuary outside Melbourne. We thought we had checked off one of those Australia bucket list activities: See a Platypus!!! The platypus was dark on top with a silvery-white belly, leaving a trail of bubbles as it swam across theContinue reading “The Great Platypus Hunt”

Snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef

Floating in the water over coral stacks around 20 feet tall watching a cloud of tiny blue and orange fish darting around my hands, I forget what it took to get here. All I can think of is how mesmerizing this view is, I want to remember it clearly. The sun has been in andContinue reading “Snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef”

Good to Know About Venice

I would go back to Venice. (See my next post for why that might not be a good idea.) The city is small and walkable, it has excellent public transportation that takes you from the airport to the train station and onto the island of Venice seamlessly. There are wonderful artisans and delicious food. HereContinue reading “Good to Know About Venice”

The Mediterranean Diet?

Rates of adult obesity are much lower in Italy than the US, yet Italians eat delicious dishes (Roman fried artichokes, veal scallopine, eggplant parmesan, gelato, cannoli). How do they do it? I’ve found one way. They only eat lunch sitting down! In the morning, every cafe sells “caffè e cornetto”, expresso and a croissant (notContinue reading “The Mediterranean Diet?”

Art in the age of Post-Truth: Damien Hirst at the Venice Biennale

One stupendous appropriation of archaeology by an artist at the Biennale was the exhibit by Damien Hirst, “Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable”. This work takes up a total of almost 40 rooms in two different buildings and is not a part of the Biennale but is displayed as though it were an associatedContinue reading “Art in the age of Post-Truth: Damien Hirst at the Venice Biennale”

La Serenissima

This is our apartment in Venice. It is small, but well located next door to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. During the day it is noisy, especially when school and tour groups arrive and leave the Guggenheim, but after 6 pm it is quiet. Este es nuestro apartamento en Venecia. Es pequeño, pero bien situado alContinue reading “La Serenissima”

Hidden Venice

Most of the action in Venice is on the main streets. That’s where the shops are located, and where you can get from one place to another without getting hopelessly lost. When you go off on a side street, it may be completely empty, but occasionally you get a glimpse of courtyards and secret gardens.Continue reading “Hidden Venice”

Iron and War

How much we learned in school! How little that was! Like most Americans, I know nothing of the history of Norway other than a general sense of it being politically neutral in general (probably confusing it with Sweden). We’ve discovered that our area was central to the German invasion and occupation of Norway, 1940-1944. ThisContinue reading “Iron and War”

History, arts and culture–if this is the result of high taxes, give me some.

At the end of the road on Tjeldoya Island (and that is saying something) we parked, got out to fish and amid the ruined bunkers of the WWII Fort Tjeldodden we found Georg’s Plass, a picnic spot complete with tables, benches, fire pit, tripod and cooking vessel, dishes, cups and other supplies in a settingContinue reading “History, arts and culture–if this is the result of high taxes, give me some.”