travel
(Video link here.) We WISH we were the kind of person who just switchrf gears on-a-dime, as surfer Nic von Rupp did to great reward. Having gotten a call about the extraordinary surf in Ireland — IRELAND!!— he canceled the flight to Hawaii he was about to get on, and flew to Ireland instead, into a big unknown.
He found fine surfing and discovered chilly, but deeply warm-hearted, Ireland.
Come to think of it, we USED to do that sort of thing a lot when we were younger – less so with age…h-h-h-mmmmm….OMG!…perhaps we need to shake things up a bit.
With thanks to reader Stacey Covell, a reader who alerted us to the great video she found in Surfer Magazine
Related posts: mental health break: riding teahupo’o waves in slo-mo
vicarious thrill: surfing big by l.e.d + moonlight
new york city beekeeper/surfer
virtual traveler: ‘a day in india’
the sometimes dangerous path to where you want to go
03.05.13 |
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in road warrior, travel, video, why not? |
les floralies
Recently, we were enticed to buy a travel-size-two-fer of Les Floralies Sniff Boxes: one to encourage sleep, the other “focus”. Sniff boxes are little vials of “aroma beads” infused with various mixes of essential oils designed to assist well-being. We enjoyed Les Floralies‘ scents and charming packaging — and found that opening a sniff box did provided a lovely, instant break. But we have to admit that as soon as we opened the intriguing little vials, we started thinking about how we could improvise some ourselves, with our own, custom-mixed blend of scents. What would be the medium that would hold the scent of the essential oils for a good amount of time, without being messy when opened? White rice, balls of infused wax, salt...? Suddenly, we realized we had ALREADY improvised a solution — years ago.
read more…
01.07.13 |
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in cheap + great, copy this!, d-i-y, diy, gifts, health, how-to, materials, resources, road warrior, stores, travel |
photo: AP/luigi costantini
Just about the time Hurricane Sandy was wreaking havoc on the United States’ east coast, heavy rains and high tides brought some of the worst flooding to Venice, Italy in years — almost 5 feet of water. Because the “acqua alta”, or high water, is a common yearly occurrance in Venice — and because Venice is essentially a rather temperate floating city as it is — sensualist Venetians have improvised numerous many pleasurable strategies for dealing with it. Imagine being able to swim in the Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square)…or just hang out, “taking the waters”… read more…
11.29.12 |
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in nature, outside, sightings, travel |
Usually we hear people talking about Google StreetView as a virtual armchair travel tool. You can “visit” all sorts of exotic places you’ve never been to without actually traveling to them, like Stonehenge and other UNESCO World Heritage sites. With the exception of artful manipulation like The Wilderness Downtown, for me these visits remain mostly abstract and at a distance; for all their seeming-immediacy, too much information is missing: the quality of air and scent and temperature, the vibe…
That is, unless you’ve visited the place already. Then StreetView can take you back into the forgotten past, and spark surprising memories that enliven the image.
When I stumbled on their latest project: documenting the Amazon River and the Rio Negro via Street View, a vivid image of a flooded tree cast me BACK into a trip I has taken many years ago up the Amazon River Basin. I’d forgotten the particular quality of sunsets over the river, the sensual aliveness of the rain forest, how close the shore could be in some tributaries and how vast and oceanic others were. I remembered passengers on the boat I was traveling sleeping in layered hammocks, sharing the dinner of rice and black beans and sausage, the absolute dark of the jungle at night, clever houses built on stilts along the shore to keep them above the flood waters. Google Street view became an aide memoire, that activated old sense memories better than many photographs I had. read more…
04.10.12 |
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in outside, paths + processes, resources, resources blogs + sites, travel |
viki2win/Shutterstock
In last month’s Atlantic, Sara Jenkins tells the story of her family’s annual olive harvest in Tuscany, which is, ultimately about taking risks and learning as you go. The Jenkins family has a rich history in food–Sara runs Porchetta and Porsena in New York City, and her mother Nancy Harmon Jenkins is the author of six cookbooks. Nancy and I spent some time traveling together in Italy, and I remember her always being game to drive off check out a market she’d heard of or wander into new places in search of adventure. It’s not surprising to me that Nancy and her family would take on the task of growing and harvesting olive trees, an indisputable challenge. read more…
02.23.12 |
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in community, family + friends, food, nature, people, rules for living, travel |
photo: peggy markel
Our intrepid friend Peggy Markel just arrived in India to prepare to lead one of her amazing culinary adventures, Tasting Royal Rajasthan. She sent us this amazing picture of an ironing board computer table and the story behind it:
“We’re staying with a new friend, Rajiv Jani, friend of a friend. It is his rig, was already here. I knew you would love it. I thought to call it ‘permanent press’. Here’s how it came about:
Rajiv lived in Atlanta for 10 years and had all of his stuff shipped back to Delhi. He set up the ironing board in a spare room for his ironing. But he found out that he could have his shirts ironed for 2 rupees each. (1/2 a penny.) 25 shirts? $1.00.
He was looking for a place to set up his home computer and set a few things down on the ironing board until he found the right place. His electronics started growing there as that was where the internet connection was and the wiring was getting too complicated to move.To buy a new table from Ikea would cost $150. Then you need a chair. read more…
02.02.12 |
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in elements, inside, people, repurpose, road warrior, sightings, strategies, travel, why not? |
(Video link here.) When we’re introduced to a venture, our first impulse is always to ask: what’s the story behind it? What were the seeds of the idea that grew into a fully realized project? It’s the stories that win us over, which is why we’re are so taken with Jam in the Van.
Based in Venice, CA, Jam in the Van is the project of music fans looking for an uncommercialized, authentic music experience. Armed with an old Winnebago that they’ve turned into a state-of-the-art recording studio, these guys invite musicians to perform, film the unique performances, and put much of it online for free (scroll down for the current list of musicians). Music fans get to discover new artists or check out fantastic live-versions of their favorite tracks, and small independent artists get amazing free publicity. It’s such a rare and beautiful thing to see a project come together sheerly out of passion and drive. read more…
02.01.12 |
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in art, music, people, reclaim, road warrior, travel, wheels |
photo: susan hochbaum
We love things that change our view. With the wind howling and the temperature cold, we found ourselves delighted with a little book that has taken us on an armchair trip through Paris, showing us the city through new eyes: the eyes of a pastry-o-phile. Pastry Paris: In Paris, Everything Looks Like Dessert
grew out of a teeny film graphic designer Susan Hochbaum created a couple of years ago, which we posted here (sadly, it has since been taken down.) It was perfect, with a sweet story behind it: “I came to Paris middle-aged, divorced, and newly in love. Granting myself a sabbatical and renting out my suburban home, I moved with my beau to this romantic city for a year of living shamelessly…Abandoning restraint, and with the appetite of a teenager…”
Hochbaum ate her way through the pastry worlds of Paris, seeing pastry everywhere she looked…
read more…
01.18.12 |
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in food, gifts, outside, paths + processes, people, road warrior, sightings, travel |
photo: peggy markel
The streets of Tangier in North Africa are a mix of the ancient and the contemporary but some traditions still hold fast. Outdoor cafes are populated with men who seem to sit for hours on end, drinking strong coffee or Moroccan ‘whiskey’ – gunpowder green tea with loads of fresh mint and sugar. Passing the day in conversation or sitting quietly is normal. But every day? Don’t they work? I wondered.
“They are working”, said our friend Said. “Did you see the paint bucket sitting on the side of the street? read more…
12.01.11 |
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in business, identity, outside, sightings, travel |
photo: kim sykes
We’ve long been fascinated by Burning Man, the annual “art event and temporary community” in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. Every year our friend Kim Sykes participates in the infamous festival firsthand. This year she sent us photographs and a report.
To those that aren’t familiar with it, Burning man might seem like a 70′s style hippie gathering full of drugs and body paint, but Kim found a great deal more: “There are large scale art projects, unique and wonderful art cars, small intimate art pieces, a camp for everyone - young and old, amazing, loving, people to meet! It is a wonderful array of inspiring creativity, some planned some improvised.” read more…
10.03.11 |
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in celebrations, community, outside, paths + processes, people, projects + play, sightings, travel |
A while back, our friend Fast Forward showed us images of his recent trip to Hong Kong; many are annotated in true Fastian (or is it Forward-ian?) style, which show HIS unique way of seeing things, as an experimental/culinarian composer/artist . Beat-up drums full of something – cooking oil, perhaps – become “percussion instruments” in his eyes. We especially love these potentially chic “seaweed scarves” read more…
09.07.11 |
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in music, outside, sightings, travel |
