I'm back in Dublin after my first visit wo years ago. This time around I know where things are, so less time has to be spent looking at the map. Whenever I'm in a city where I can have a sense of neighbourhood, I start to feel comfortable, almost at home. Because I've spent a fair amount of time in Pairs, it comes easily there, and I have my neightbourhood in Manhatten where that occurs as well. I found that walking around in Dublin that I felt very much at ease - the comfort that comes with familiarity, with that sense one gets when arriving "home". In my case, home is less where I live and much more where I am and feel comfortable. Dublin has become another of those places. Read More...

A visit to the Maritimes, somewhere I haven't been in 30 years. I expect some things have changed. This trip is occasioned by a conference where I'm presenting a workshop, and overlaps with another, much bigger conference going on. I have a few friends to visit here as well, so the entire visit certainly has multiple purposes........... Read More...

This is my eighth trip to DC in the past nine years, so it's become quite a familiar place for me. Nevertheless, there are always changes there and always something I didn't quite get to see or do when I had some free time. The event is an American Psychological Association State Leadership Conference, and the agenda is generally pretty packed; any free time over the few days we have is a bonus.

I was reminded a few times again of one of the things I dislike about travel in America - their expectation that they should be tipped for everything. I've been told that the fee for something is $X, and "anything you want to tip me" on more then a few occasions, and even had a waiter (in NYC) follow me out into the street once to ask if the service was poor. He wasn't concerned about my possible dissatisfaction, he just wanted a bigger tip than I had already left. Read More...

This is my eighth visit to France, and my fifth to Paris. The 1991 trip which included London, focused mostly on Paris and I had a couple of great weeks, including attending the racetrack with passes from the French breeder's association and a visit to the training centre at Chantilly. That will be hard to match in just a week (and having to get my own tickets to the race) but I was looking forward to revisiting many of the places in Paris that I have enjoyed so much in the past. My hotel was located just a bit south of the neighbourhood I am so familiar with, and I was sure I would be happy there. I couldn't have been more right. Read More...

Each year I travel by car to Chicago to watch the running of the Arlington Million. On the way there and back, I generally spend one or two nights in Madison, WI., a city I have come to really like, and enjoy the restaurants there. This year I took some extra time to drive downtown to the Chicago Art Institute for the afternoon. I have not been to this gallery for over 30 years, and thought it was about time to have another look. It certainly was well worth the effort, as they have a very good collection there and usually have some interesting artists featured at any given time. Read More...