In 2014, when I was living in Spain, I published a blog called Great Hikes Near Madrid that I hoped would be useful for English-speaking hikers because almost all of the online info about hiking around Madrid was in Spanish. Four years later, that post gets more traffic, by far, than any other post on this […]
On the first day of Passover, a group of friends and I went on a hike. Our plan was to start just outside of Jerusalem in an Israeli National Park and end up in the Palestinian town of Jericho. We figured it would take us about six hours, because some ultra-fit friends said they ran […]
Welp, it’s that annual time where I get restless with my normal gym routine and search for something new. I’m still going to the gym regularly and pushing my way through the same old circuit training workouts (so many squats and burpees and push ups, you know the drill) and I run now and then […]
One of the first things I do when I move to a new place is figure out a new workout routine. In Yemen, it was running from bullets. Just kidding, it was swimming laps and doing Crossfit in the hyper-masculine hotel gym with Marines who blasted death metal. Before that, in Washington DC, it was […]
City living got you longing for some fresh air and open spaces? Lucky for you, Madrid is situated near some great hiking trails that can take you over mountains, through forests and quaint old towns. Here are a handful of stand-out hiking areas near Madrid, all of which offer a number of hiking trails. 1. […]
I’ve said previously that I am no fan of running. But if I really remind myself of it, it’s true that I’ve been a reluctant runner at various points in my life. There was that time in college when I had a dog and ran up stairs to the mostly abandoned East Campus at Western […]
Mr.Dame in Spain and I are very frequent gym-goers, some might say gym rats. I wouldn’t call us that because it implies that I work out in nothing but a sports bra and he in a tank with armpit holes so big you could see his belly button and that we both slurp powdery protein […]
I was slightly annoyed by the incessant noise in our Manhattan apartment before, but it really got to me during last night’s sleeplessness and today’s endless honking, yelling, and traffic noise. I’ve been sticking to the apartment and writing through the morning. I thought this was working out fairly well. But today, the yelling Iranian […]
There’s a saying in the State Department that people who come to difficult posts such as Yemen will end up one of five ways – as a skunk, monk, drunk, chunk, or hunk. Those first two refer to losing the will to clean oneself (and probably wallowing in depression as well) and to not getting […]
I detest running. It’s probably my least favorite activity. I like it even less than doing dishes or watching football on TV or dancing in public before I’ve had three drinks. I don’t think I’ll ever understand how anyone can enjoy long distance running, because I find it tedious, painful, and self-flagellating. The only instance […]
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