Category Archives: Travel

The art and practice of wandering

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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North to London

The English Channel Tunnel must be one of the most boring technological wonders in the world. It’s more than fifty kilometers long, took six years and almost double the original estimated cost, and has since its completion survived fires, technical … Continue reading

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In Bruges

The train from Antwerp to Bruges takes less than two hours, a rattling across low green fields and through villages with narrow block houses. Above, gray skies that would be more or less a constant for the next week and … Continue reading

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Big Sticky Now Available!

As many of you already know, one of the ways I support my travel addiction and vagabondish lifestyle is by developing iPhone applications. We all have to earn a living, and as far as it goes, iPhone development gives me … Continue reading

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A Week in Antwerp

A shuttle collects Paulis, Julia, Adam and I from the Hanjin Palermo, and I watch the ship fall away behind us before disappearing entirely in the tangle of stacked containers and heavy machinery. After a brief detour where I have … Continue reading

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Across the Atlantic by Cargo Ship

It’s six in the evening on the day I’m supposed to leave Charleston on the Hanjin Palermo, bound for Antwerp, and I haven’t heard a thing. Emails to my freighter agent have gone unanswered; repeated calls get only an answering … Continue reading

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