Portland, Oregon

Returning from the windy coast, we spent several days hanging out in Portland during a heat wave. Max, Simon and their moms live in a tidy little house in southeast Portland. The neighborhood features gorgeous flowers that brightened up our morning dog walks. Ah, to gardening in a climate with rain! We made the ritual … Read more

Oregon Coast

I spent a lovely week with best buddies in Portland, Oregon in late June. Meet my hosts, Simon and Max. For our first three days, Simon and Spencey, one of Simon’s moms, ventured out to a little hamlet called Pacific City on the Oregon coast. We stayed in a cute, old fashioned little bungalow perched … Read more

Rome

The final post from our trip to Sicily! Wednesday was our last day on the ground and we spent it traipsing around central Rome. Our first order of business was to learn whether we’d be able to fly home the following day. The U.S, was still requiring a negative Covid test, taken one day before, … Read more

Pompeii

Tuesday at 7am we were back on the Freccia Rossa heading out of Roma Termini to Naples for a transfer to the Circumvesuviana, the suburban commuter train that passes the archeological site of Pompeii. A settlement was present on the site of Pompeii as early as the 8th century BCE. Originally, the town was right … Read more

Reggia di Caserta & Naples

Monday morning found us back on the Freccia Rossa, Italy’s high speed train, at 8 am, headed out of Roma Termini towards Napoli Centrale. Our itinerary was simple: spend the morning at the Reggia di Caserta (Royal Palace of Caserta), located about 20 miles north of Naples, then hop the train and spend the afternoon … Read more