She Did NOT Just Do That: Val D’Orcia, Italy

October 15 – 22 Central Tuscany, Italy See this face?  It’s belongs to a young John the Baptist.  It was carved in the 13th century by a member of the  Sienese school, and it is on display in Volterra’s Pinacoteca e Museo Civico. See this face?  It looks familiar, right?  However, it has nothing to do… Continue reading She Did NOT Just Do That: Val D’Orcia, Italy

Worldschool Fall Semester 2012: Urban Planning

September 2 – 3 Pompei, Herculaneum & Mount Vesuvius, Italy Lots of folks want to know how we educate our kids while remaining location-independent. It’s a fair enough question in its own right, although, for the moment, it really only pertains to Oliver, seeing as how he is the only member currently in our company… Continue reading Worldschool Fall Semester 2012: Urban Planning

Going Underground in Naples

Naples, Italy August 29 – 31 The sun had rolled slightly away from its zenith at three in the afternoon when we pulled into the gnarled streets surrounding Naples’ central storico (historic district).  Despite this, it’s cruel heat still radiated over the ancient paving stones at Plebecito Square, and scarcely a soul ventured outside while… Continue reading Going Underground in Naples

Molto Piccolo

Rome, Italy August 23 – 29 At 4:45pm, we have exactly fifteen more minutes before we are ejected from the Galleria Borghese.  Fifteen more minutes is all the time my family has to run up the stairs to the second floor, past four or five Carravagios, a couple of Titians, and two of Raphael’s more… Continue reading Molto Piccolo

Chasing Waterfalls

Black basalt columns at Svartifoss

Iceland: August 1-22 Aside from foraging for wild blueberries in the heath, one of our favorite pass times while touring in Iceland has been “collecting” waterfalls.  Few natural phenomena are more emblematic of the county than these examples of cascading water, and many of them are well marked alongside the tourist-trampled Ring Road.  Gullfoss (golden… Continue reading Chasing Waterfalls

Wild Westfjords

A room with a view

August 6-10, Westfjords, Iceland The two young Parisians sharing a farmhouse with us at the base of the Vatnsnes Peninsula were trying to conceal their amazement/horror as I single-handedly attempted to scrounge up a passable meal for our two kids.  It was 11pm and the sun had finally slipped into the Arctic Sea beyond the… Continue reading Wild Westfjords