Espanish Spanish

June 18, 2018 by Marc Moorghen in Culture, Opinion, Travel

During the entire time we were in Madrid, I had an near uncontrollable urge to say everything with a lisp. Even in English. You must understand that this comes not from a desire to make fun of "Spanish Spanish," as I like to call it (Español de España), but because I enjoy the sound so much. It tickles my ears and brings a smile to my face, especially when someone is being very earnest and speaking in quickfire Spanish Spanish, like the Madrileños, as the people of Madrid are known. Thankfully, they are wonderful people with a sense of humor. They made our transition from the mean streets of Paris very easy. The minute we arrived in Madrid, it was as if a weight had lifted from our shoulders.

Gallic humor

June 15, 2018 by Marc Moorghen in Culture, Opinion, Travel

Paris. The name alone evokes romance, beauty and fun, but it's a hopelessly outdated stereotype. The internet seems surprisingly uninformed about the origin of the saying "gai Paris," which denoted the fun-loving, but pre-sexual-revolution properties of the city. At the torn of the century--nineteenth to twentieth--Paris was the place to be. It was the center of the world, in terms of literature, visual art and Bohemian life, giving birth to many of the modern currents that shaped the last hundred-plus years. While there are traces of that world, if you look carefully, the city today is a very different place.

Holland in bloom

June 06, 2018 by Marc Moorghen in Culture, Opinion, Travel

When we planned our trek around the world from the comfort of home in California, we knew that we would celebrate our fifteenth wedding anniversary on the road, but we had no idea what we would do to mark the occasion. In the end, we found ourselves spending a leisurely spring day in the picturesque English countryside, followed by a crazy drive to catch a ferry to Holland. Once aboard, we had a celebratory drink and slice of pizza in the ship's restaurant, before retiring to our cabin for a good night's sleep. While it wasn't what we had expected, it seemed like a pretty appropriate way to celebrate our years together: in the company of friends and on the road.