Kazan — summer 2012

One of the things that first strikes me about Barcelona is the trees. Streets often are lined with them, and the ones that seem the most common are the planteros (sycamores), with their spiky seed pods. They give a green-gold shade to the pedestrians… more »

I wanted to head back to the market today for a couple of reasons. First, there are some packed lunch stands there that are always full of people, but alas, when I arrived, I was still full of veal from last night and breakfast from this morning, so no… more »

Here I am in Spain. I've spoken Spanish for over thirty years, so why the hell do they speak to me in English once I get two or three sentences out of my mouth? I mean, I have studied thirteen languages. Why don't they try my first in German or… more »

If you take Lufthansa from Frankfurt to Barcelona, you will arrive in terminal 1, which is the smaller terminal. To get to the train that will take you to downtown Barcelona, you need to take the Green Bus to terminal 2. The Barcelona card gives you… more »

I returned to the Frankfurt airport in transit from Barcelona to Kazan. First I took some time out to see if I could find some free wifi. No go. In the meantime I glanced over at some recliner chairs, and a young father was nodding off. His daughter… more »