Category: Travel

  • Not dying in Delhi traffic

    Not dying in Delhi traffic

    There are four things I remember from reading Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us) – Never make eye contact at an intersection in Mexico City Late merging is actually the most efficient use of road space even though it infuriates everyone else Risking your life to teach a bad…

  • Here Comes the Sun at the Pompidou Center

    Here Comes the Sun at the Pompidou Center

    In 1993, I was a Mormon missionary, wandering the streets of Paris, France, to spread the Good News. A favorite place to go for a break when knocking doors wasn’t working (which was most of the time) was Place Georges Pompidou, an open concrete square in front of a modern art museum where street performers, hawkers, caricature artists,…

  • Zermatt Mountaineers Cemetery

    Zermatt Mountaineers Cemetery

    In Zermatt, Switzerland – the ski town from which you can see the Matterhorn in the distance – there’s a fascinating and moving little cemetery behind the St. Mauritius Catholic Church. It memorializes those who died climbing (or descending) nearby mountains. See also: http://www.zermatt.ch/en/Media/Attractions/Mountaineers-cemetery [amazon template=thumbnail&asin=8799411806]

  • Cruesli au Chocolat

    Cruesli au Chocolat

    The best breakfast cereal in the world is Chocolate Cruesli. The slogan in French is “le plaisir croustillant”, which is roughly “crunchy pleasure” or maybe “pleasure that crunches”. It’s nothing like Cocoa Krispies or those other fake chocolate cereals – it has real pieces of chocolate in it. Just holding the box, you can tell…

  • Speed Tour of Paris

    Speed Tour of Paris

    On the way back from India last week, I had a 7.5-hour layover at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. I arrived at 6am and then rushed through passport control to the train station (which is conveniently attached to the airport). I took a train to Gare du Nord and walked to Sacré Coeur…