Those crazy Belgians are nothing like Hercules Poirot — I lived in Antwerp, Belgium for three months in 2014, and again in the fall of 2021. (For the TL;DR of why, read this). Pandemic restrictions were winding down, until towards the end when Omicron began ratcheting up. Still, there was a lot of living to be had. …

A ferry ride up the Sognefjord — My wife and I spent three weeks in Sweden and Norway. The last leg of the journey began with a short flight from Oslo to Bergen, a port city on the Atlantic coast of Norway. We spent a few days there exploring the town, enjoying the views and the local…

Loving and sharing my favorite herb. Fennel is a member of the carrot family, which includes caraway, celery, coriander, cumin, dill, and parsley. It’s easy to grow and fun to cook with. It’s also the favorite food of Swallowtail butterfly larva. …

I had the place to myself. — Ourense, Spain is in the northwestern Galicia region, north of Portugal. Its ancient streets and hot springs (Burgas) date back to Roman times. I love the quiet opportunities that an early morning walk gives you, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this deserted. …

Spring Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Nature Art” — Artist creates. Child dances. Tide erases. There is a lovely little beach town in the south of England called Torquay (pronounced Tor-kee). It is perhaps most notable for being the birthplace and longtime home of Agatha Christie. It is at least locally notable for the “Sandy Man”, who regularly creates these ephemeral works of art, and…

Time Travel through Stone and Bronze — I never gave much thought to all of the historical monuments and sculptures I’ve come across in my travels. Until I saw this article by the esteemed Charles G. Haacker: Sculpture and Statuary Photo Essay “If it crosses my line of sight, I will likely photograph it.”medium.com Europe has centuries of history, religion, wars and royalty to inspire memorials. Also, there is a tradition of decorating ordinary…

Six Word Photo Story: Freestyle — Can’t get you outta my head… Those of you that have Fitbits know that at 10,000 steps you get fireworks. So it was pretty unusual and random for me to have stopped and checked at 9,999. Which made me think of, and break into, a rousing chorus of: ????????????????????????????? You have to guess! What did it make…

April Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Graffiti & Street Art” — Graveyards fascinating? Don’t take it literally. These thick iron doors keep you out of the Cemitério de San Francisco, in Ourense, Spain. But the cross openings let you look in and witness a spectacular array of burial vaults and elaborate memorials. Our graffiti artist makes a dark commentary to those who can’t resist peeking in on…