Mark and I have decided (last night), for our December 2019 trip, to go to Kenya and Ethiopia. UPDATE: TRIP TO KENYA AND ETHIOPIA A few days in Nairobi, with a day trip to Mombassa and a few days in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with a side trip to a cool place called Lalibela. All details and plans to come soon.
This is a philosophical book about what the future of mankind will bring. The author discusses many of the latest trends in science and technology, and warns of the consequences of misusing and abusing the knowledge we’re acquiring. I appreciated his argument for the better treatment of animals, and his comments on smartphones, antidepressants, and longevity were thought-provoking and compelling,…
The bleary-eyed bunch woke up around 9:00 a.m. and began screaming for coffee. We pulled ourselves together and hit the street, on our way to Blue, a popular eatery that offers excellent brunch, with a great view of the city. Amsterdam is home to many fantastic museums, and the guys definitely wanted to see the big three: The Rijksmuseum, Stedelijk…
I found this book, about a long relationship (and on-again-off-again romance) between a young Irish couple, to be one of the best novels I’ve read all year. The writing is amazing. The author really gets into the heads and minds of the two main characters, very deftly chronicling their pain and their passion, as their relationship goes through some major…
This was a disappointing book. The blurb intimated that this was more of a true crime story, about Gary Wilensky, a tennis instructor and twisted child predator who stalked and pursued rich girls on Manhattan’s Upper East Side in the ‘90s. Only a small part of the book deals with Wilensky and his crimes. Instead, most of the book…
I woke up early, got dressed, and started walking toward Central Station. Plumeau and Rosen were due to arrive at Schipol Airport at 8:30 a.m. I grabbed the 7:30 train, got to the airport at 8:00, and looked at the arrivals board to see which arrival hall they would be coming through. I knew they had to go through passport control,…
Introduction: The Backstory In early 1978, as I was finishing up my freshman year of college at New York University (NYU), I realized that this wasn’t the collegiate experience that I was expecting or hoping for. I was still living at home, riding the subway into the city for my classes, and then coming back home to Brooklyn to try…
A pretty cool coming of age story that takes place in San Francisco in the late ‘70s. The author is apparently a judge on Top Chef Masters, which I did not know when I picked up the book. The author details the turmoil of growing up as a gay kid in the punk era, dealing with an alcoholic father and…
This was an excellent book, giving a fairly comprehensive overview of the history of surgery through some fascinating (and shocking, and horrifying) surgical cases. These include a story about a man who desperately removed his own bladder stone, Bob Marley’s melanoma (which started as a minor toe problem, until it metastasized to his brain and killed him), JFK’s autopsy, and…
The last days of the trip had really beautiful weather, and I convinced Robb to do some biking. (He was obsessively keeping track of how many steps he walked daily, and he was reluctant to go biking because the pedaling didn’t register as steps. Silly, I know.) Vondelpark is a beautiful, popular park in Amsterdam, and a picnic in the…
In New York City, the big Pride parade occurs on the Sunday of Pride Weekend, traditionally the last Sunday in June. In Amsterdam, however, the parade occurs on Saturday. Rather than march down the street, the floats sail down the Prinsengracht canal. In New York, traffic is a nightmare and trying to get from one side of town to the…
Pride is a fun time of year here in Amsterdam. The city really gets into the spirit, and there’s a great feeling of Pride and activism in the air. Stores get in the spirit as well, selling all sorts of Pride related things. My apartment is on Spuistraat, in the centrum. It’s a very central location, and that is very…
On Wednesday, we decided to check out one of my favorite neighborhoods in Amsterdam: The Pijp. There are charming, quaint streets, lots of adorable cafes, and the famous Albert Cuyp market, where vendors sell clothes, food, and all sorts of other items down a stretch of several blocks. It’s the kind of market where, even if you’re really really really…
Amsterdam weather is notoriously iffy. Clouds can appear and rain can come pouring down at a moment’s notice. I was obsessively checking the weather before Robb’s arrival, and it all looked favorable, except for Tuesday, his second day. Most of the agenda I planned centered on outdoor activities, because Robb doesn’t like generally like museums. In this pouring rain, though,…
After spending a week in Amsterdam by myself, I prepared the apartment for Robb’s visit. The Anne Frank Room (i.e. the hidden little upstairs bedroom) was clean, and the bed was freshly made. I put a small fan up there, because being on the top floor, it can get a bit warm. I set my alarm for 6:00 a.m. Tuesday…