Author Archives: tsraveling

Out of Cash in Zaragoza

From San Sebastián I head across a wide green landscape marked here and there by rocky ridges raising above the surrounding forest that cast ever longer shadows as the sun sets. By the time I get to Zaragoza, it’s already … Continue reading

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To the Heart of Basque Cooking

The bus to San Sebastián takes a little over two hours. As we head east, we leave the coast temporarily and rise up through low craggy mountains, sparsely forested and gray with the underlying rock that’s so thinly veiled with … Continue reading

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South to Sun and Spain

The ferry from Portsmouth is, as it turns out, a “mini-cruise,” a way for upper-middle-class upper-middle-age English couples to get away from the din of England by getting into the din of a smallish ship full of English people. I, … Continue reading

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Farewell, England

I have a few hours in London before catching my train to Portsmouth, and meet up with Shreya for lunch at a restaurant that manages to try to be British, American, French and Spanish all at the same time, but … Continue reading

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Oxford and the Arab Spring

A few hours after saying goodbye to Kate at the Victoria Coach Station in London, I catch the local bus to Oxford. A friend of mine from my 2009 trip to Turkey, Monica, has since managed to become a Rhodes … Continue reading

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Food and Friends in London

Kate and I are on the bus by eleven, and by one the dark untamed landscape of Scotland is already fading into the green farmlands of England, cultivated and tame for centuries now. They have a different sort of beauty, … Continue reading

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Settling Down

Ullapool’s a quiet little town, and I spend my night there reading and writing. A bus the next day takes me back to Edinburgh. I’ve made a decision; my reasons for not flying on this trip is that flying has … Continue reading

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South Uist to Stornoway

The crossing from Barra to South Uist is rough and windswept, but short, and when we reach the other side Barra’s still visible behind the low mist and clouds. A bus meets us at the ferry. My hostel for the … Continue reading

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West to the Outer Hebrides

Iceland, it seems, is going to have to wait. My desire to see a bit more of Scotland, combined with finding a relatively cheap apartment in Paris for the month of October, has made me decide to put off Iceland … Continue reading

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Festivals and New Friends

As the bus that took Shreya and I from London to Edinburgh pulls out and carries on north, the city falls silent around us. It’s two in the morning, damp and cool. I have an apartment for the month, and … Continue reading

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