Second Line Parade

The second line parade, which happens every Sunday, was the best part of our visit to New Orleans. We looked up the itinerary on WWOZ radio station’s website and rode our AirBNB bikes over to the starting point. It had just started, and there were about a hundred people dancing and walking to the Stooges Brass Band playing. The Lady Jetsetters were… Read more →

House of Dance and Feathers

We visited the House of Dance and Feathers in the 9th Ward of New Orleans.   It’s in Ronald W. Lewis’s backyard — a shed full of memorabilia, books and photos from hist participation with the Mardi Gras Indians. His book is for sale with stories and photos. He has a lot of stories to tell, about his family, losing… Read more →

Tourism Day 2

Today was full of touristy adventures! We started off with coffee and Andouille sausage breakfast sandwiches at Mr. Gregory’s. That is where the voodoo tour started, run by Free Tours on Foot. We heard so much complicated history of New Orleans, and the powers of magic and ritual. We walked around the French Quarter, then went to Lüke for .75… Read more →

Voo Doo Tour 

 (Above is a description for Oshun) I don’t know much about the history of Voo Doo. Like most people, when k think of Voo Doo I imagine a voo doo doll with a needle in its chest – a prop that’s meant to curse an enemy. I don’t even know where I learned this; I only know it’s what most… Read more →

New Orleans Day 1

I saw the Mississippi River for the first time today. As we descended, the giant muddy river curved the view from my window. The river looks still and steady and I couldn’t help but stare, wide-eyed, at this body of water I’ve only ever read about in books. It’s something when this happens – when you finally see something that’s… Read more →

Weather

Tomorrow we leave for New Orleans. It’s raining today in Los Angeles, so all the pre-trip garden projects will just have to not happen. Decluttering has felt important this last couple weeks, for our house guests as well as for my sanity and for a cleaner, simpler 2016. It’s the first trip of the year for S+S, and we look… Read more →

Thailand Adventure 2016!

We are going to Thailand in July! First we go to Singapore to visit Sofia’s old friend Minh and his wife PA. Then we’ll go to Bangkok, the Gulf Islands, Chiang Mai and Angkor Wat in Cambodia! Suggestions welcome. Food and cool places are our faves. We can’t wait! Read more →

Lisbon

We made it to Portugal! It’s so weird to be in a country neither of us has ever been to where we can get by but definitely don’t speak the language. It’s very different from the way we are able to communicate in Spain and Italy. Our flight from Madrid was delayed and in that process Sofia connected with Daniel… Read more →

Santiago > Madrid

Today we took a bus from Finisterre to Santiago. It made us dizzy with motion sickness. We hadn’t moved that quickly for that long (two hours) since arriving in León three weeks ago. Time travel is real. We’ve grown accustomed to moving slowly. To moving only as fast as our bodies can go, move, step by step. Although we will… Read more →

Day Twenty-One: 0.00 km + Ritual

Sunset rituals at the lighthouse, the end of Cape Fisterra.             Finisterre today      Our certificate of making it to Fisterra–the Fisterrana.  Sofia’s muscles Married life…hanging clothes.   Lunch at Don Percebe–grilled peppers, shrimp w spicy garlic sauce, San Martiño (translation?) Gallego style with potatoes, flan with coffee and walnuts, espresso & herb digestif liqueur.        Read more →

Water

We walked for ten miles (15 km) in the rain today. Not a downpour, but a constant mist (heavier in the mountains), as if the air itself were made of water. The first few miles were nifty. By the fifth, we were over it. Around the eighth, we felt like badasses. By the tenth, we were drenched and incredulous. All… Read more →

Going Beyond

 As almost all of the pilgrims we met completed their journey on El Camino (if it’s ever completed) in Santiago, Sammy and I prepared to walk on to the sea, the end of the earth, Fisterra, or Finisterre (called by both names here). As we left the comforts of city life and the familiar hustle and bustle and crowds of… Read more →