Kanchanaburi, Thailand: « The Bridge over the River Kwai» by Pierre Boulle and « Kwaï » by Vincent Hein

Probably the most famous cadence whistles in cinema history. As I was spending a day exploring the Bangkok area, my Lonely Planet reminded me that the famous “Bridge over the Continue Reading →

From the Valsesia to the Valle d’Aosta in the Italian Alps: « The Eight Mountains » and « The Wild Boy » by Paolo Cognetti and « The Weight of the Butterfly » by Erri De Luca.

Four of us, dashing young fifty-somethings, set off with our backpacks up the Vogna river. Our wives accompanied us through the first part of the valley, walking from hamlet to Continue Reading →

Nicaragua: « The Country Under My Skin » by Gioconda Belli, « The Jaguar Smile » by Salman Rushdie and Muchacho by Emmanuel Lepage.

The taste for poetry runs deep in Nicaragua, a country where the harshness of volcanoes is softened by the water of lakes. On our recent trip to León, we visited Continue Reading →