The D&O Diary’s sojourn in Asia continued last week with a visit to Penang, an island along the northwestern coast of peninsular Malaysia. In addition to being an island, Penang (along with a bit of the adjacent mainland) is one of the states in the Malaysian federation. We visited George Town, the state’s colorful and multicultural capital, located on the island’s Northeast. For a few brief days, we enjoyed Penang’s rich, diverse, and interesting sights, sounds, and tastes.
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Singapore, Again. (Finally.)
The D&O Diary is on assignment in Asia this week, with the first stop on the itinerary in the equatorial city state of Singapore. It was great to finally be back in Singapore after a three-year pandemic-caused hiatus. It was also great to see this dynamic attractive city again and to enjoy its many colorful sights and attractions.
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July in London
This past week, The D&O Diary was on assignment in London. London has many attractions, but weather is not usually one of them. However, during the recent early July days while we were visiting, the weather was just great. As a result, we spent almost all of our time there exploring London out-of-doors.
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Munich and Nuremberg
The D&O Diary’s sojourn in Germany continued last week with travel to Nuremburg and Munich. The same wonderful late spring weather that we had enjoyed the week before in Frankfurt followed us as we continued our travels in Germany.
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A Long-Awaited Return to Germany
The D&O Diary was on travel in Europe this past week, with an extended sojourn in Germany. It was delightful to be back in Germany after the long pandemic-caused travel interlude. The pleasure of the journey was substantially enhanced by the absolutely terrific weather we enjoyed during our visit.
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An Incurable Case of Travel Nostalgia
Deep in the darkest depths of winter and now nearly two years into the seemingly never-ending pandemic, my wanderlust yearnings have been calling to me, urging me to take to the road again while at the same time filing me with nostalgia for the places I have been. Call this post a tribute to the travels of the past and a hopeful gesture toward the travels perhaps yet to come.
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London Again (Finally)
It is with a great deal of pleasure that I finally get to say this again after a long wait: The D&O Diary was on assignment in London last week. With two COVID vaccinations under my belt and a booster shot to boot, I just decided it was finally time to start traveling again. It was great being back in London and re-acquainting myself with one of my favorite cities. Pandemic precautions made some parts of the trip awkward, but in most other ways it felt almost normal to be traveling again.
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Art, Travel, Nostalgia
I miss travel. No, I don’t miss the crowded airports, the delayed departures, the missed connections, or the lost luggage. I miss the experience of discovering a city for the first time, tasting new and delicious foods, and learning about unfamiliar languages and cultures.
I also miss art. I miss encountering painting, music, architecture, and sculpture, as I do when I am traveling. For me, exploring museums, visiting cultural sites, and attending concerts are all such important parts of travel.
In the day-to-day work-from-home life that we are all now living, I often find myself reminiscing about the many rich cultural experiences I have enjoyed over the years during my travels. Although my cultural travel nostalgia encompasses many pleasurable memories, for now it has a bittersweet edge. It seems likely that it will be many, many months before we may once again travel freely.
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January in Northern Europe
The D&O Diary was on assignment in northern Europe last week, with stops in Berlin, Hamburg, and Paris. I know from past experience that traveling in northern Europe in January can be a formidable experience. On this trip, however, mild and dry weather conditions generally prevailed, allowing for some really pretty enjoyable travel experiences.
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November in Paris
The D&O Diary’s European itinerary continued with a quick weekend stop in Paris. The weather forecast projected rain for pretty much the entire weekend. And it did in fact rain Sunday morning. But the rest of the weekend was dry and more or less sunny.
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