Almost two years ago, through a weird series of connections and circumstances, I ended up tech-ing a clown show called Aga-Boom, which was performing in the Vilnius Comedy festival. Long story short I became friends with the principles, Iryna and Dimitri (and Jesse, who is also in the show and with whom I have many mutual friends from many different facets of my life) and several weeks ago, they asked if I could tech their upcoming run in Lisbon, Portugal. On the plus side, I’d never been to Portugal, it was decent money, and I always love working in theatre. The down side was that it was a three-week gig at the end of the semester and with Monki only 4 1/2 months old I would miss her 5 month check up (this after missing her 1 month for a gig in Vegas) and three weeks is a long time away from family. Continue reading “Just clowning around…Lisbon (11/28-12/5)”
Category: Cities
Earth Rise | David Magazine
Man Had to Go to the Moon to Appreciate the Majesty of the Bright Blue Marble Floating in Space that We all Call Home.
Source: Earth Rise | David Magazine
My latest in David Magazine. I’m pretty happy with this one. Give it a read and see what you think.
Kauno Rotuse Live Feed!
I live in a beautiful place. This picture to the left is a ground level shot of our former City Hall (where I, and many others, got married). This square is the home of our official Christmas Tree, which often wins design awards (especially the green plastic Christmas Tree miracle from five years ago).
But now, someone has gone ahead and put a live cam overlooking the square. So if you ever want to know what things are like here in Kauanas… Go ahead and click. It’s worth it.
Reimagining London 2016
One of the great things about living centrally located in Europe is that nothing is very far away – and generally not that expensive to get to. If you’re like Monika, you can find amazing deals (she boasts about a roundtrip from Sweden to Italy, via Frankfurt, for little more than a euro each way). But even if you don’t have her luck, you can get some pretty amazing deals which allow you to see new countries or revisit old ones. Continue reading “Reimagining London 2016”
Belgium 2016 Day 6/7 – In Brugge, Brussels and Back Home
Belgian timing is not my strong suit. It really doesn’t take long to get from city to city in this small country. So while I got up early and took time to actually take advantage of the free breakfast at Hostel Uppelink and didn’t rush to get the train, I was still in Brugge before 10 am which is when everything actually opens. Okay, not exactly true. The central square was packed with the weekly Wednesday market and some of the souvenir shops, restaurants and their version of a Belfry were open, but the tourist information office, not so much. Continue reading “Belgium 2016 Day 6/7 – In Brugge, Brussels and Back Home”
Belgium 2016 Day 5 – A Ghent-leman and a Scholar
I left Antwerp early… again. Today I was heading towards Ghent, a town I knew had a history. The train ride was only about 30 minutes so I’d get to Ghent early and have all day to explore. Until the train stopped. Seemed that there was a train stopped on the tracks ahead of us and a voice came over the intercom informing us we’d be delayed a few minutes. In Dutch. A nice gentleman sitting across from me translated so I could keep up. Continue reading “Belgium 2016 Day 5 – A Ghent-leman and a Scholar”
Belgium 2016 Day 4 – Ink, Bridges and a Butt Plug Gnome
Really wasn’t expecting to go the Netherlands this trip, and yet, here I was, just past 8am, hanging out with fully armed Belgian soldiers, waiting for the train to Rotterdam. As it turned out, our train was delayed so we were instructed to take the following train (which had a change rather than being a direct route). This wasn’t a big deal and they announced instructions in Dutch and English. The problem was the poor Albanian guy who was trying to get to Amsterdam (the ultimate destination of the train which would drop me in Rotterdam). He was having a hard time figuring out where to go so I made sure he got on the right train and then changed where we were supposed to. I left him on the second train. I hope he made it. Continue reading “Belgium 2016 Day 4 – Ink, Bridges and a Butt Plug Gnome”
Belgium 2016 Day 3 – Opening Locks in Antwerpen
Once again, the boys from Jersey had their alarms set. They had overslept yesterday and missed Amsterdam so were trying it again today. The night before, when I’d gotten in, I mentioned the double alarm and gave my permission for one of their number to hit the guy who hadn’t woken with his alarm the day before if he did it again. I figured that was fair. This time, though, I was ready. I realized I had basically six days in Belgium and had spent two in Brussels. I also knew I had a hostel waiting for me for two nights in Antwerp and in Ghent but that I could arrive whenever so it was a flexible plan. But it was cold in Brussels and I kinda wanted to see what else this fair country had to offer. Continue reading “Belgium 2016 Day 3 – Opening Locks in Antwerpen”
Belgium 2016 Day 2 – Doing it the way the Belgians Do
I awoke with a plan… and someone else’s alarm. There were these four young college guys from Jersey in our room and they were planning on hitting Amsterdam today (it’s a three-hour train ride – something I would remember a couple of days later) and so had set alarms to get up in time to make the early train. Unfortunately, being college guys, they were not to be roused by a mere alarm. Me, however, being an old college professor, I get up at the slightest sound so when his alarm went off for the second time, I was ready to hit the day. Continue reading “Belgium 2016 Day 2 – Doing it the way the Belgians Do”
Belgium 2016 Day 1 – Mannekin (and sky) Pis
So, Belgium.
Wasn’t supposed to be here all by myself but them’s the breaks. Rasa was supposed to join me, but they wouldn’t give her the time off work and then sent her to Germany besides, so here I am. Thing is, a couple months back, RyanAir (that bane of the comfortable traveler) had a special and it was either Brussels or Paris for us. Since that was right around the time of the terrorist attack in Paris, we opted for Belgium. Besides, I’d never been before and it was as good a place as any. So I booked the flights and we figured Rasa would get the time off after the three months probation period. At least we hoped so. We we wrong. Continue reading “Belgium 2016 Day 1 – Mannekin (and sky) Pis”
Christmas, Mažeikiai style
For the second year in a row, we headed to Rasa’s hometown of Mažeikiai to celebrate Christmas. This year, though, was going to be a bit different. Rasa has a job now, so her time off schedule is quite different. Instead of being able to spend a leisurely week or so as we did last time, we only had a few days, counting the weekend. So instead of relying on relatives, friends or public transport, we decided to rent a car for the few days. It gave us more flexibility and freedom. Continue reading “Christmas, Mažeikiai style”
Silesian Holidays – A weekend in Poland 14-16 August
Once again, I’m at Coffee Inn with Monika and she’s studying for a tour to the Silesian Lowlands of Poland. This is a tour she’s created and done a few times in the past, and it’s happening a week or so before school starts so I figure it’s safe to ask if I can go along. After a few minutes, she agrees. Now, sure, these tours are open to the public, but as she’s a friend, it’s like asking if you can visit at work so I want to make sure everything is cool. Continue reading “Silesian Holidays – A weekend in Poland 14-16 August”
The Wolf’s Lair or The Further Adventures of Julia and The Brat
You gotta love it when a friend bails on ya. You have tentative plans, to meet for a coffee after work then she calls and says she can’t make it because she got a better offer. Fair enough. I understand that. No harm no foul. Of course, to make it up to she comes back with… “so, wanna go to Poland on Saturday and check out a place Hitler used to live?”
This is my relationship with Monika. She’s as good a friend as you can get, even if she does get better offers from time to time. She’s also a great traveling companion and our (mostly) day trips together, from Anykščiai to Tallinn to the one time we went to Finland just to ride roller coasters are all amazing fun – so when she says do you want to check out a place which can verifiably host a placard stating “Hitler Slept Here” who am I to say “no”? Continue reading “The Wolf’s Lair or The Further Adventures of Julia and The Brat”
The Perfect American Road Trip Has Finally Been Planned
Italy – Day Seven – Padua and Verona – Shakespeare would be proud!
We woke up Monday morning with the sad realization our whirlwind tour of Northern Italy was coming to an end. We weren’t in as big a rush as we had been since today was going to be devoted to seeing the city we’d been staying in and then moving north and eventually ending up at the airport preparing for a 6am flight. Continue reading “Italy – Day Seven – Padua and Verona – Shakespeare would be proud!”
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 