I have just returned from a writing retreat on a mountaintop in France. Let me just let that one sink in, so you have a chance to be like “ooh lah lah, someone think she fancy.” But, there it is. After getting a writing degree that required twice a year stays in Paris, I just […]
I think it’s safe to say that after two-and-a-half years in Jerusalem, I’ve tried most of the best cocktails in the city. That’s not saying a whole lot, because Jerusalem isn’t particularly known for creative cocktails and cool bars, although Tel Aviv is. We mostly drink cocktails from our own bar cart, which always features […]
Remember when my family visited and we had an amazing Jordanian desert adventure in Wadi Rum and Petra? Well, a few week’s ago, it was Mr. Em in Jerusalem’s family’s turn and back to Jordan we went – the land of wide open spaces, mountains, desert, camels, goats, donkeys, and ruins. This time, it was […]
People told us before we moved to Jerusalem that it’s best to plan a getaway every six weeks, as the city can kind of get you down if you don’t leave every now and then. I was indeed feeling a little blah last week — but don’t I feel this way every February no matter […]
A few days before we left beloved Madrid, I was sitting in my favorite coffee shop attempting to order a filter coffee. I knew this place didn’t sell filter/drip/pour-over coffee, but still I liked to ask because how else will they know there’s a demand for something other than bitter espresso drinks? A guy sitting next […]
Last year’s New Year’s trip to Rome was when I learned about cacio e pepe and that was a little bit life changing. This year’s New Year’s trip to Tuscany brought even more food revelations. (And perhaps cemented an awesome tradition of New Yearsing in Italia?) My friends and I spent the most fun day of our Tuscany […]
I have long been a truffle lover. That sensual earthy sent makes me salivate. I’ve been known to drizzle a few drops of truffle oil to make truffled deviled eggs, or truffled Marcona almonds, and I once ate the real thing, shaved over pillowy ravioli at Del Posto restaurant in New York City. So, during […]
Every year at Christmastime, I watch four movies. The 1990s version of Little Women, which isn’t a Christmas movie per se, but is positively dripping with the Christmas spirit, despite the Marches being “temperance people.” National Lampoons Christmas Vacation because I’m an American. Love Actually, because I pine for the simpler days of meeting loved […]
I recently posted that our next post is Algiers, Algeria, but we just learned before we land there for a two-year tour, we’ll be in Rabat, Morocco for one year! And I am so excited about it. For the food, for the climate, for the chance to explore a colorful new country. And for the […]
Jerusalem’s Old City always feels to me rather mysterious and dark, filled with masses of Christian tourists from Italy and the Philippines who are retracing the steps of Jesus, but also with thousands of residents retracing the steps of their parents and grandparents who walked the same slippery stones in the Old City. Vendors sell […]
