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Europe, continued
Hang Gliding
I was fully prepared to be scared out of my wits, but it was surprisingly easy to run down the steep hill and straight into the air. After that, it was a half-hour of non-stop giddiness. Being along for the ride was great, especially when the pilot started doing stalls, dives, and wing drops, but the moment when I was truly hooked was ( Read more... ) -
Catching Up On Europe
Why Brussels Sucked:
It was unseasonably hot. It was nearly impossible to navigate, and I have breezed through every other city on this trip with ease (even the supposedly notoriously difficult Amsterdam). The directions to the hostel were so terrible I spent an hour wandering up and down hills before finding the street I needed at a 90-degree ( Read more... ) -
Miscellaneous Europe updates
Oper Koln
I am pretty sure the original Handel version of Giulio Cesare was not so sexy. This production featured harem dancers stripping to their undergarments, a male soprano in high heels, leather pants, and pompadour, and Cleopatra as a dominatrix in the third act. Still, the audience predominated by sexagenarians gave them enthusiastic ( Read more... ) -
Who wants witty postcards?
I have found some real corkers already. Thank you, Tintin store. If you want one, e-mail me your address at my gmail account, unless you are Joy - yours I have from your condo postcard. If you don't have my e=mail, post a comment here and we'll sort it out. -
Kiki's Delivery Service, minus the witch part....
...that's Brugge in a nutshell. This place is so like that town it's eerie. I want to stay for months.
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Tuesday Poem #9: Musee des Beaux-Arts
Today I landed in Cologne after some 21 hours of combined travel. Groggy, hungry, and very excited, I made my way through customs to the S-Bahn station. Despite having learned at least 90 percent of my German from Beethoven librettos, I made my way effortlessly (but not uneventfully) through a series of trains and trams to my tiny no-frills hotel ( Read more... ) -
Tuesday Poem #8: Ithaka (the "abbandono is going to Europe" commemorative poem)
So I'm going to Europe in two weeks. I deliberately haven't much of a plan...it's all very napkin-sketch. My very limited itinerary includes:
1) Drink a fresh Kolsch in Koln/Cologne
2) See Brueghel's "The Fall Of Icarus" at the Musee des Beaux-Arts in Brussels
3) Attend the international MINI festival/party MINI United in Amsterdam
4) Visit Meteren, ( Read more... ) -
Who wants a Morrissey ticket?
The Moz is coming to Austin, tomorrow at the Backyard. I have two tickets, but there is only one of me. Who wants the other ticket ( Read more... ) -
Tuesday Poem #7 (belatedly): On The Roof
On The RoofThe trouble with me is that whether I get love or not ( Read more... ) -
Links and Wiinks
Links for wordies:
Wordie.org is a site for people who like words. Make lists of your favorite words, hated words, favorite palindromes, etc. Lots of fun. My lists are here, but I haven't entered many words yet.
The Unsuggester is a project by LibraryThing designed to invert the "if you liked this, you will like that" concept so prevalent on e ( Read more... )