Every time I travel to Europe, I am consistently amused by the warning signs I encounter (as far as entertainment value, they rank up there with Italian television, which is no small feat. TV shows in Italy make no sense and often include dance interludes with women in tiny dresses. Chauvinism has never been more hilarious). In…
We were walking near La Rambla in Barcelona when we saw this sign: – For those of you who, like me, speak absolutely no real German (and are nearly fluent in fake German, but have been forbidden to speak it because your husband deems it “offensive and really, really wrong”), allow me to translate. It…
This post was supposed to go up last night, but it didn’t. Why? Because last night my husband came returned from his most recent overseas jaunt, and the evening was destined to be spent eating chocolate-chip ginger banana bread on the couch while catching up on The Daily Show. Clearly, I am a woman with…
I like to think of myself as a reasonably intelligent person. Oh, stop laughing. I said reasonably. Yes, I’ve hopped on trains with absolutely no idea where I was going, and it once took me three days to get to the Presidio from downtown San Francisco via public transportation (I could have made it there faster…
I tend to miss things. Street signs. Major themes in books and film (I watched Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and was woefully confused because I kept getting distracted by Benedict Cumberbatch’s hair). And often, when I travel, I tend to miss precisely what it was I set out to see on that day. This past…
I can, at times, be a little opinionated (I know, I know. Shocking, right?). I’ve found myself at odds with all sorts of people – local politicians, NFL referees, the judges of American Idol – due to our differing viewpoints. I can’t help it. I’m Italian. We’re a passionate bunch. Recently, a disagreement with someone had…
Hotel Balmes, where we stayed for a few days during our trip to Barcelona last fall, stands out in my memory not for its convenient location nor its seemingly bored-to-tears staff. No. The perfectly-adequate-but-still-lacking-jamon-serrano breakfast does not really jump out at me, either, and our view (of an air duct) leaves no distinct mark on…
I should not be left to my own devices while shopping in other countries. I get it into my head that I should buy something avant-garde and unique and so European that when I get it home to the states I will be hailed as some sort of fashion goddess. “Where on earth did you…
I forget that, during my travels, I occasionally hand other people my camera. I won’t realize it until after I’ve uploaded all my photos to Flickr. There will be a few snapshots in the stream that I didn’t know existed. Sometimes, they’re awful. And sometimes … – I generally hate surprises. Let’s be fair: they…
Tales of Food, Feminism, and Fury
by Geraldine DeRuiter
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