a café of one’s own

Paris continued… Thanks to an ill-timed general strike in Spain (and yes, everything does revolve around me), I spent an extra two days in Paris, mostly on my own. My friend Amy was kind enough to share her intimate apartment with me for most of the week, but she was in the process of moving [...]

Read Full Post »

The Hammam

Everything is blindingly hot. The walls drip steam as I lie on the smooth stone furnace looking upward, the ceiling glazed with a mosaic of rich colours and shapes. My eyes burn and I close them. Wearing nothing more than a bathing suit bottom, my back softened melts into the raised surface, sweated tears down [...]

Read Full Post »

European poems

Berlin Kinder parks darkened Imaginations enlightened There, a sharp stool There, a dull red bench Slide straight and narrow Empty, for lack of light Echoes of children passed: we were here we were here once Kinder ghosts A new type of chocolate Wrapper left in the sand box We were here   Paris Blunt pencil [...]

Read Full Post »

lovely things about Paris

The first thing, naturally, was to eat pastries. And then to go to the market to buy bread and cheese and vegetables and a roast chicken that would last several days. In the early evening, we had a glorious picnic on a pathway overlooking the river Seine. We had a bottle of wine, too, but [...]

Read Full Post »

Eloped in Paris!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02-6AF9pdK0

A Clown Wedding at the Eiffel Tower

Read Full Post »

#27 Attempt some form of busking

For the complete list of 101 things in 1001 days and the progress so far, follow this link.

Read Full Post »

Thoughts on being a tourist

I don’t think I’ve quite mastered the art of being a tourist. Some people are really good at it: my grandmother, for instance, plans frequent holidays for herself and her friends and always manages to visit dozens of sites and take hundreds of pictures and never fails to bring home a souvenir magnet. While I [...]

Read Full Post »

Good morning, Paris!

Read Full Post »

101 in 1001

101 items in 1001 days. To be completed by October 12, 2013 at 27 years of age. host my own poetry series host my own radio show visit Paris visit my family in Spain visit another country in Europe (Italy) visit a country in Asia visit a country in Africa visit a country in South [...]

Read Full Post »

Being a Londoner (or, being a Canadian in London)

I’m not sure which title is more accurate. Probably the latter. Though I like to think of myself as a Londoner while I’m living in the city. I try not to unfold maps and wave them around in public (in fact, I’ve resisted buying a map to avoid that temptation altogether), and I try not [...]

Read Full Post »