travel – Page 17 – Muttering Retreats

A Sky is a Sky is a Sky (Rome, Italy)

I love this photo, because it could have been taken anywhere, but it wasn’t. It was taken in Rome. A reminder that wherever you go, there you are. Or something. Also, a bonus shutter shot, because they’re cool. Again, could be anywhere — but it wasn’t. Photos shot on iPhone 8, black and white filter.

And Then There Were Cats (Rome, Italy)

View across the cat sanctuary, just down the road for our temporary abode – photo provided by author Welcome to our view pretty much every day we were in Rome. After my regular morning quest for cappuccinos, I’d come back to the apartment to fetch my traveling companion, and we’d head out. A mere fiveContinueContinue reading “And Then There Were Cats (Rome, Italy)”

Home Temporary Home (Rome, Italy)

Homebase – photo provided by author Pro tip for wanderers: Take advantage of places where your friends are living. Often they will not only give you some insider information about places to visit, but also offer to hook you up with inexpensive (if not completely free) lodging for a few nights. Advanced pro tip: IfContinueContinue reading “Home Temporary Home (Rome, Italy)”

Reality vs. Reverie

I don’t remember many details, but I have a vague memory of reading a book when I was very young about a girl who was living in really bad circumstances, like a closet or something. Whenever she was put there (by a terrible parental figure, of course), she’d imagine a whole world of friends andContinueContinue reading “Reality vs. Reverie”

No RSVP Required

I received an amazing email today: “[Our holiday party] is happening this year. In accordance with Michigan state laws, we are limiting the number of guests outside of our immediate family to zero. […] You are hereby uninvited.” In other words, do not RSVP. Do not BYOB. Please find it in your heart to spread a littleContinueContinue reading “No RSVP Required”

Road Trip Rituals: The Shaw Festival

Basement Lobby of the Royal George Theatre – photo provided by author I’ve been thinking a lot lately about touchstone places. You know, the locations that you will go out of your way to make time and space to visit, because they do something to your brain, to your essence. They recharge you. They centerContinueContinue reading “Road Trip Rituals: The Shaw Festival”

I Shot What? (NOTL, Ontario)

Midday stroll at the Shaw Festival, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario – photo provided by author File this one under “Shots I Was Told Not To Take”. No, I did not actually look directly at the sun when I took this. But my smart phone did. More proof that I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing behindContinueContinue reading “I Shot What? (NOTL, Ontario)”

Ruinous

The Ruins of Pompeii – photo provided by author Added weight crushes like dirton my shoulders and in my headI am buried alive under the strainof your incessant love and affectionstill and cold I cannot moveI don’t dare breathe and disturb youthe thinning air – is there nothing thereafraid to turn and see you don’tContinueContinue reading “Ruinous”

Tannhauser Gate (Pompeii, Italy)

The Granai del Foro – photo provided by author I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.Bladerunner, spoken by Roy BattyContinueContinue reading “Tannhauser Gate (Pompeii, Italy)”

Hole in the Wall (Pompeii, Italy)

I couldn’t resist the on-the-nose title. Although “Head Like a Hole” is the actual song running through my head right now. This image is a microcosm of the ruins of Pompeii. There are walls, everywhere. Holes, everywhere. This is a place of contradiction: so much preserved, and so much destroyed. And if you look hardContinueContinue reading “Hole in the Wall (Pompeii, Italy)”