We had made plans for a return trip to South Africa when I got the idea of stopping on the way in Namibia, a vast desert country in South West Africa that sounded intriguing from all I ‘d read and heard. Originally the idea was to fly from London straight to Cape Town. But with a […]
A Destination Wedding in the Nation’s Capital
WASHINGTON D.C. Guests flew in from around the U.S. and across the Pacific recently for my daughter’s wedding. I slept, the first night, on her fiancé’s sofa in his soon-to-be vacated bachelor apartment. The following afternoon, I settled into the Tabard Inn, the Dupont Circle hub where for nearly a decade my daughter spent evenings […]
“Dark Universe” Unraveled
People hardly take the time to wonder what’s going on in their neighborhood let alone out in the universe. Going to a planetarium changes that. Everyday concerns dissolve in the dimly lit, dome-shaped theater. The visuals pop on screen and you take off, soaring into space and back in time. Soaring on a beam of light […]
Coming of age in “Amaluna”
SAN FRANCISCO Cirque du Soleil brings wonder and magic to the holiday season in its newest show, Amaluna. The acrobats and muscians masterfully convey a coming-of-age tale set on a mythic island. As stage lights come up, goddesses gather to honor a maiden’s passage to adulthood. Her mother, Prospera presides over the rite, invoking thunderous […]
Highway to the Golden Zone
SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA If you find yourself in San Francisco on an unseasonably cold day, make a break for it. On a recent foggy morning, my friends and I sped north like homing pigeons. At the first crack in the fog just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, we belted out “Here Comes The Sun.” But […]
“Bell, Book and Candle” Mixes Witchcraft With Romance
SAN FRANCISCO. How do you know when you are truly in love? When Gillian lost her powers, she remembered the warning. Don’t mix romance with witchcraft: sparks fly but with mortal consequences for witches. As Act one opens in Bell, Book and Candle at the San Francisco Playhouse, Gillian ponders the more mundane question: How will I […]
