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Wishing you a healthy weekend
Oh hi, I’m alive. Barely. Somewhere between Geneva, Copenhagen and Washington D.C. I picked up a nasty stomach bug that has ravaged my gastrointestinal system, leaving me a couple pounds lighter and afraid to eat any food that is not of the saltine cracker variety. I do not recommend this weight-loss plan. The upside of…
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Five days in Milan: La Brera Quarter
When my husband mentioned he may have to cover a mind-numbingly boring tax conference in Milan last week, I selfishly pushed my personal desire to see this northern Italian city over his desire to not write about European tax laws. Suffice to say my husband was won over by the promise of sunshine and gelato.…
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On terrorism and living abroad
I am having trouble processing the atrocities in Brussels today. It shouldn’t be so difficult for me to do. In a previous life as a newspaper reporter I used to cover horrible, ugly things. I used to listen to police scanners for words like “homicide” and then race to the scene where I’d hound police…
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Worth the Trip: Bar Luce in Milan
The title of this post should really be “Worth the Trip? Bar Luce” since I haven’t visited Wes Anderson’s Milan-based cafe yet…but I am going to next week! I’ve had the filmmaker’s restaurant earmarked since it opened last spring, but couldn’t justify taking a four-hour train just to order cappuccino and pretend I’m Margot Tennenbaum. (I…
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One day in gorgeous Ghent
We were all set to spend Saturday in Bruges until we started talking to locals in Brussels. They said real Belgians go to Ghent and tourists go to Bruges. Sheesh. (But we are tourists, I pointed out.) When we got to the train station Saturday morning and found that Ghent is both 20 minutes closer…
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Look! A new section on BakersfieldBlonde
I finally dug through months of travel posts and organized them under a new section “The Blonde’s Travels.” There you will find a list of countries I’ve visited and individual articles I’ve written about those places. Since I’ve been receiving more questions from readers about travel recommendations lately, I’m hoping this will be helpful.…
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Three days in Brussels
Brussels shares many attributes with Geneva: It is a city known more for the diplomatic meetings it hosts than its cultural attractions, therefore I was resolved to discover what makes this city unique. One thing is immediately apparent: Brussels has seriously jaw-dropping architecture. Brussels is a perfect city for wandering around, peeking down alleys and taking photos.…
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Off to Brussels!
Lots of important things happen in Brussels. World trade. European diplomacy. And yet the city is known for fries, waffles and a comic strip museum. I think I’m going to like this town. I’ll let you know when I return next week…meanwhile, send me your Brussels recommendations and follow me on Instagram. Here are a…
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A moment in memoriam
I have read To Kill a Mockingbird every three years since the fifth grade; and yet, I don’t consider myself qualified enough to speak on the life of Harper Lee. I did, however, provide a quote for one of my favorite writers Herb Benham for this week’s Bakersfield Californian: “I was Scout when I read it in fifth…
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The Swiss-French motherhood conundrum
Like many women I’m curious how parenting works in other cultures, and even more so now that I live on the border of Switzerland and France. I’m not a mother myself, but I’m already taking notes on how the mères I see around Geneva interact with their children. There is a lot to admire about Swiss-French mothers–they always…