Law, Partially

To start November and get to Spain, we flew a godforsaken European airline, Air Europa, that got us safely to Madrid, but disgusted us and annoyed us in the process. (The timings weren't good for Milan-Madrid flights, and this airline offered the most convenient time.) I missed the first night in Madrid with food poisoning courtesy of a Milanese airport ham sandwich -- not recommended. We had several hopes and goals for the Spanish leg of the Great Adventure to the South -- not all of them culinary -- Goya, Alhambra, and Mezquita. In Madrid, we wanted to soak up the Spanish cosmopolitanism of the imperial capital and see the Museo del Prado, hoping to recreate our Louvre success with our nascent art fan. In Andalucia, we wanted to explore the tapas heartland and the multicultural history (again, with the multicultural family's interest in multiculturalism...). I was worried how Bobby would react to his constricted pasta supply in Spain. Back in London, Bobby would almost a

Ambitions to write entries in every city have crashed. Entries by region? Failed. As we wind down the first half of the trip and leave Italy for points west, maybe I can succeed in documenting our adventure by country. If India travelled to France, Italy would result. Just like India, Italy is even jammed onto the southside of a continent. And just like in India, we enjoyed our adventure, though some days we were dirty and tired of it, and just like in France, we ate very well and went to museums. In Florence I felt like I was in India, often walking in streets (few practical sidewalks), along with cars driven by the unsympathetic, breathing in exhaust fumes, amidst crumbling old buildings and throngs of people. India is of course more crowded, dirtier, and poorer, but sewer smells often linger in those medieval Italian city centers as they do in India's more crowded neighborhoods. Like in India, sometimes I'm amazed that Italy works at all. But it works, and it is a great

Slovenia is a neat little country wedged between Italy, Austria, and Croatia. It formerly was the northwest hind of Yugoslavia. Because of its former political association, for those unfamiliar, we may be likely to pity it, associating Yugoslavia with the Iron Curtain, Europe's last continental war (until the present, unfortunate civil war in eastern Ukraine), ethnic cleansing, and the laughable Yugo car . But it's far from pitiable; in fact it's prosperous. On the Triple Bridge right in the heart of Ljubljana's center, at the base of the castle. We regrettably walked (trudged?) up that hill a few days later. I admit I didn't know much about the place and have in the past confused Slovenia with Slovakia, both of which were part of Yugoslavia. Slovenia should stand out, though. When you visit, its confidence and health are palpable. No wonder it was the first Eastern Block country to join the Eurozone ( i.e. , switched its currency to the euro, in 2007) an

Maybe one year is too long to take to plan a vacation. With so many weeks available to envision the trip, you get ideas like: I will document the entire trip in real-time on our blog. Also, let's make non-refundable hotel bookings because they're cheaper -- when we've planned so far ahead, what could get in the way of the trip? Almost two weeks into the London Linges' Great Adventure South, and I am writing the introductory entry that probably should have been written before leaving London. This fall, Christine, Bobby, and I all find ourselves in natural transition points. Christine just graduated from LSE; she's pregnant and unemployed. I agreed to move my consulting practice from London to Minneapolis and am (temporarily) unemployed in the meantime. Bobby, not yet tied down with a mortgage or state-mandated schooling obligations, goes where the trains and planes (and his parents) take him. His employment consists of going on adventures. We're already in Eu

We had a good life in the Lower Holloway area of Islington. Bobby's nursery was very close, and many kids living in our building also attended. His best friend lived in the same building. There were many cafes, all of which knew how to make babycinos (ingredients consist of foamed milk and some chocolate powder), including one on the ground floor of our building. Some of the last few babycinos at the New Zealand-style cafe, Sacred, on the ground floor of our building; since the hamburger restaurant across the square closed, Sacred became a de facto hangout for the local gangs of small children. King's Cross was two stops away on the Piccadilly. This area north of the station was an old intermodal port, where goods could be transferred from train to ships on the Victoria Canal. The big brick building was grain storage but is now an art school with various restaurant chains on the ground floor. Next door are former coal storage buildings that now house a high-end s

In the year before Christine started school, we passed several long and (usually) enjoyable weekends in various European cities. The list of desired destinations was, and still is, long. Moscow didn't make the first cut. But a Russian made us an offer we couldn't refuse. I was excited to return to Moscow, having visited once before, in January 2004. While the president is the same, I'd heard that a lot else has changed. Namely, the Russian state became a lot wealthier after 2004 with the price of exported Russian oil reaching a long-sustained higher average price. We found that the Moscow mayor has invested a lot to enhance the city's livability. When I visited before, I stayed in a gigantic hotel next to the Kremlin designed to house thousands of partisans for the erstwhile party conferences of the 20th century. That brutal concrete hulk met the wrecking ball since then and is now a park with paths through planted native fauna up a hill that offers views of St. Basil