Located at 699 Rue St-Jean, Quebec’s J.A. Moisan is worth a visit even without the historical trivia of being the oldest grocery store in North America. Between its wooden floors and pressed-tin ceilings you’ll find every grocery item you could possibly want, ranging from ice cider to olive oil to picnic-ready savories such as salamis … Continue reading
Category Archives: “Normal” Places We Go
Hiller Tunnel
Ever since Brandon and I visited Hiller Tunnel at Malakoff Diggins last summer (and took the picture you can see below) we have wanted to venture into its mysterious depths… We would have headed up the cave that day, but lacked any lights (which are definitely needed). So, what better time to do so than … Continue reading
Driving Across The Country
In late January (2011) I did a solo run from Oregon House, California to Toronto, Canada (mostly on Interstate 80). I drove with my camera on my lap and these are some of the pictures I took from my car as I made my way across the country – America and Canada as I saw … Continue reading
Monte dei Paschi di Siena: The World’s Oldest Bank
Rocca Salimbeni and Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena We are in front of the impressive former stronghold of the Salimbeni family, wealthy Ghibelline merchants and bankers. In the 15th century, their fortress home was confiscated by the Commune of Siena which placed the toll post and the “Monte Pio” later incorporated into Monte dei … Continue reading
Siena, Italy
Written: October 2010 Occurred: July 2009 Florence gets more attention, but my Italian and I prefer Siena to Florence by a huge margin. The tourist hordes can keep Florence. According to legend Siena was founded by Senius, son of Remus; the symbol of the wolf feeding the twins Romulus and Remus is as ubiquitous in … Continue reading
Yorkshire: Rupert Bear Country?
Anyone else read Rupert Bear stories when they were a kid? In January of 2009, I went up to Yorkshire with some classmates of mine. Although the Rupert Bear Museum may be part of the Museum of Canterbury, I was struck by how much the countryside around us resembled that portrayed in the Rupert stories. … Continue reading
The Amalfi Coast
I’m often accused of only traveling to horrible places. However, that hardly seems a fair accusation. Consider my trip last fall to Italy’s Amalfi Coast… I even brought my family along on this one. The elite and the wealthy of ancient Rome visited often to find solace in the beauty of these cliffs as the … Continue reading
The Velvet Rocket 