


Tale of two trips
I recently traveled to London just short of my 28th birthday. The first time I visited the British capital I [...]

Opera in the blood
In a chest, an author finds a family lineage of devotion to opera — and the past comes alive.

Farewell to Drew
It's too bad pet turtles can't write because they get to see the wide acres of a human lifetime.

At home with the McKenzies
Being anointed "cultural advisor" to 19 visiting American college students can make for a class of its own.

Goodbye to all that
The author bids a bittersweet farewell to her "accidental" vocation of Rome tour guide.

Freckled, dazed and exhilarated
Harry Potter was as much a companion as a fictional character. Which makes what he's up to now less interesting.

Crushes of old
A writer's love of Michael Phelps resurfaces just in time for the Rio Summer Olympics.

Fitbit waits
How a gift given in passing became a creation capable even of rekindling a love affair — with a city.

Lady Gertrude
A doe-eyed guest is one thing. A doe-eyed pregnant pigeon you fall for quite another.

Quasi hablando
A lifelong relationship with Spanish brings a stunning realization: you were never friends.