Travel

The Solo Traveler: Friends Made, Friends Lost

When traveling solo, I try to meet and speak to other travelers. There are so many genuinely nice people from many nations doing this. Some of these little friendships end with an exchange of contact information – some don’t. One example: I met the 2 German couples at a bus …

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Robots, Big Macs, and the Fight for $15

This month, a hotel staffed almost entirely by robots opened in Japan. The robots at the reception desk include a human-like “female” robot that bows and blinks her eyes and a likewise polite English-speaking dinosaur. Robots perform other functions at the Hann’na Hotel (which means “strange hotel” in Japanese) normally …

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The Rug

We were thirsty, the three of us. And hungry too. Jilli, petite and erudite, had come from class and, being a ‘dammer, had arrived on her bicycle. Tiger, tall and athletic and incurably mischievous, was restless. She had spent the afternoon in Vondelpark making new friends, 2 and 4-legged. Tiger …

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SoFlo Days 2 and 3

Day 2 I am loading up to go to Little Havana: all the equipment in the car, grabbing some extra clothes, when she buttonholes me. Was I going south? No more bikes up here; can you take me as far as Sunrise? Sure, why not? She gets in and off …

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Cherry Blossom Time in DC

Those of us who live in the nation’s capital have to put up with a lot.  The horrendous traffic, summer heat and humidity, high cost of living, bloviating politicians and posturing bureaucrats, dysfunctional governments, hordes of tourists,  etc.  One of the rewards for our patience is the annual blooming of …

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