Birthday in Honfleur


Last Friday, 18 August, was my birthday – don’t even think of asking how old. We planned a trip to Honfleur. This was a dual-purposed journey – celebrate another trip around the sun and a dentist appointment in neighboring La Havre. Before you send sympathy comments regarding a dentist visit and joyeux anniversaire, remember that…

Basel & Luzern – Loved Switzerland


Last Thursday we left Alsace and headed to Basel, Switzerland, with a lunch stop at Titisee-Neustadt in the Black Forest of Germany. Our first impression of Basel was the crazy pedestrians and bicyclists, they cross and cut in and out with seeming little concern for cars. As a driver it was up to me, with…

Blues, Grays, and Viewfinders


Sketching on the bow of our cruise ship at 0700 in the morning I was attempting to capture what was a magnificent panorama. Sweeping vistas dazzle our sight and motivate us to grab our sketchpads. Yet these same landscapes are some of the trickiest to capture. Over the years I have spent hours on them…

Cruise Dining, Part II


We have four days left on our third cruise. This time it is on the Norwegian Star from Tromsø ending up in Iceland by way of Longyearbyen, the northernmost inhabited village. The Star had a few of the same restaurants we saw on the other ships – an Irish Pub, Le Bistro, La Cucina, and…

The Top of Europe, 71 Degrees North


On our last morning in Tromsø I had coffee again at Kaffebønna Stortorget. The Hermes II is moored just a across the street, so a sketch seemed natural. It took me back to summer days a couple years ago when I was sketching at the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle. Then at 12H00 we…