Migraines are somewhat of a mystery to those who have had the pleasure of experiencing them. I’ve had them for as long as I can remember but I didn’t know that they were migraines. Just headaches. There are different kinds of headaches and they have their own characteristics. For example the classic hangover headache typically…
E-Bike Basics and the Force of Gravity
There is a conspiracy to keep you fat as you get older. When you are fat you can’t move as well and as much to try to lose weight. Add to that the arthritis and muscular problems and all those petty issues that prevent sufficient expenditures of calories to help you lose weight. Running is…
Permesso di Soggiorno
Immigrants to the USA get what is called a Green Card, if they are lucky. Those green cards have been very hard to get and are now close to impossible because a white nationalist is president. The green card gives the immigrant the right to stay and work in the United States and it is…
Of Truffles and Potatoes
The first time I had to actually deal with a truffle was in 1982. Alice and I had gone to Alba in the Piedmont Region of Italy, on the recommendation of a wine merchant I knew in Queens, NY. This merchant was well known in wine circles and mention of his name opened many…
Wine Whine
It is not an accident that we find ourselves in a wine growing area. Grapes are particular. Like humans, they can survive under many conditions ranging from stupidly hot to moronically cold. When too hot the wine produced suffers because the grapes ripen too quickly and too much to produce a balanced wine. Growers…
Gypsy, Vagabond, Wonderer, Traveler
Most of you, those of you who have read this blog or who know me, know that we (the three of us) are on a slow journey through Europe. So far we have visited, in an extended manner, Sicily, Britany, and now Tuscany. Lately I have been asked “how can I do this too?” I…
It’s Been Some Time
A friend of ours, that we have not seen in years, came to visit this past week. She has never been in Italy, no less in Tuscany, so it was our pleasure and duty to show her around. When we were not driving or walking the streets of one of the beautiful towns of Tuscany,…
Coffee and Patience
I like coffee. I’m not addicted to coffee. I don’t drink multiple cups a day. I can’t drink it after 3PM unless I intend to stay awake past my normal bedtime. But I like coffee and prefer good coffee over bad. I would rather do without coffee if it is bad coffee. Which most out…
Two Weeks in Tuscany
We have been in Tuscany several times so we knew what to expect and see. That is not the problem. Tuscany is an absolutely beautiful place and they have fantastic cuisine and the people are warm (as they are in most places we visited). The problem, what I am upset about, what I miss from…
French or Italian Markets
The weekly markets in Brittany were a destination. Something to look forward to. On Saturdays we would drive the 10 minutes to Quiberon and walk that market. Wednesdays we would go to Vannes and Thursdays to our own Town, Saint Pierre. Walking by the food stalls was entertaining and educationional and mouth watering. The French…