Calculating Route…

Not much has changed since I last posted here: Denise is still in the U.S., but there's now a plan in place for her to return, so that's a relief. My days are still mostly centered around long dog walks in Porto, where Coco and I choose a general direction or landmark, and then makeContinue reading "Wandering"

While I was traversing Northern Spain and getting settled in Porto, Denise was in Los Angeles, where she grew up, helping our son Finn get back on his feet. Of course, she still had time to take some pictures so I thought I'd do a bonus post — included in your subscription — that's reallyContinue reading "L.A. Vibes"

Here's a touristy shot of Nova de Gaia, home of the Port houses and tasting rooms, taken from the Ribeira in Porto. Coco and I have been here in Porto for two weeks and I’m not sure which one of us misses Denise more. After a few days, Coco stopped looking around for her atContinue reading "Solo (with Coco) in Porto"

Denise and Coco at the majestic Pyrenees one last time before we left town It's been longer than I planned between these posts but I think you'll see why I'm so tardy... Where to begin? Let me just tell you that, as I write this, Denise is in Los Angeles tending to our youngest sonContinue reading "A Spaniard in the Works"

Denise and Coco descend the stairs of the old city wall in Pamplona Don’t get me wrong, we loved France and the French people (even the Corsicans, who insist they are NOT French!) and ditto for Italy and the Italians, but after a couple of weeks in Spain, we definitely feel more relaxed than onContinue reading "¿Siesta o Fiesta?"

Right before we left Pierrefitte in France, we found two books by James Michener at the little free library (in English!) that documented his time in 1960s Spain. Both volumes are full of Michener’s famous in-depth research, with a lot of history of the different areas and stories of day-to-day life in Franco’s Spain. ToContinue reading "Michener’s (and Slattery’s) Iberia"

We love the message of this sign, seen all over France, that points the traveler in "all directions." How wonderfully vague. Have we told you how pretty our little town Pierrefitte-Nestalas, France is? Granted, it’s not as jaw-droppingly cute as some of the absolutely huggable French villages we’ve driven or hiked through but it hasContinue reading "Toutes Directions"

The terrible beauty of mass produced Virgin Mary's on display in a Lourdes shop. Denise here! Steve is too busy watching Le Tour so it's my turn to fill you in. Water is everywhere in the Pyrenees. It pours from the mountains, powering hydroelectric plants, runs through villages in charming little creeks and spillways, flowsContinue reading "A Tale of Two Waters or: Lourdes, Won’t You Buy Me a Souvenir"

Your authors/photographers awaiting the Tour de France For years I denied the obvious about the Tour de France (and bike racing in general): it was full of doping and the organization — UCI —  was complicit in the whole scandal. The profile of cycling had exploded in the US and they weren’t about to killContinue reading "Tour de France, Part Two"

Once I started writing this, I realized it would be too long for one sitting so welcome to part un a deux in which we recount our two days watching the Tour de France. Also in the blog pipeline: Denise visits Lourdes for some old-timey healing. Road sign near our village, warning about some bikeContinue reading "Tour de France, Part One"