"Monter le jambon? WTF does ham have to do with wheel pose?!"
Not long after Mr. Wild Dingo and I moved to Switzerland, we found a perfect pizza joint close to our house. By definition, this joint was homey, rustic, with plenty of miss-matching furniture, packed with locals and a friendly service staff. It even had home delivery and take out services. It seemed like the perfect solution for a […]
When we first moved to Switzerland, I listened to this song from The Postal Service a lot around the house and on the bike trainer. I felt like it was a great description of our lives here. Mr. Wild Dingo was always traveling and I was always missing him. Living abroad is a dream opportunity that many aspire to, but […]
The Venetian Fort overlooking Chania's outer harbor. Chania, Crete's Venetian quarter, was the perfect place to stay. For centuries this tiny harbor port area has been fought over and controlled by Minoans, Mycaneans, Romans, Byzantinnes, Ventians, Genoese, Turks and Egyptians.
"Bulls and boobies," said Mr. Wild Dingo as we left Knosos, "that pretty much sums up Minoan society." Well, sorta. There were plenty of other symbols around Knosos.
The first thing you notice about Cretan culture is the impact of spiral design on both ancient Minoan and modern-day art.
For fun, Mr. Wild Dingo and I read our "compatibility horoscope" while in Crete. The 14-page document basically summed up that we both liked to do everything in excess. In other words, we're luxury enablers.
Airplane window view passing over the Alps returning home to Geneva from Crete. On the flight to Crete over the New Year holiday, we flew very low over the Alps. The pilot seemed to circle them and the airline attendants ran around excitedly telling us to look out the window. The pilot flew very low for stunning […]
"There's nothing worse than soaking wet Jodhpurs!" The only downside of the dogs vacationing at Bernard's is that in the winter, they come home smelling like smoke. All dogs are indoor dogs at Bernard's, and he and his wife seem to be smokers. But it's a small price to pay for the luxury of having them stay in a "home" […]
The Phaestos Disc is a round clay disc of roughly 16 cm (6 inches) in diameter. It was discovered at Phaestos (in Crete) in 1903. It's inscribed on both sides with pictorial symbols that spiral from the circumference into the center. Spiral themes are a huge design element in Minoan art and writing, featured on everything such as sarcophagus', […]