TRAVELING ALONG, Part 10— The first time I travelled to Egypt it was to meet up with my fiancé there, who was visiting family in Amman, Jordan. More about that later.; this is the story of a group of women traveling to Morocco, then Egypt. My second, third, and fourth trips to Egypt were in 1990, 1991, and 1993. Each trip had its own special story and flavor. 1990 and 1991 were especially good years. In Morocco The 1990 trip began with a visit to Morocco. We were in Marrakesh (which is where…

TRAVELING ALONE, PART 5—Getting Through Security, or Not... Traveling by air has changed a lot over the years. It is harder. Much, much harder. There are more rules, and everything can take a lot longer. This blog is not about comfort (like how crowded the seats are now). It is about security. Security is good. I have no complaints, but I have a lot of stories. When I travel, I have come to expect to be stopped going through Security. Always. However, that has taught me a lot, so here I will…

TRAVELING ALONE, PART 4—How Not to Fall into a Venetian Canal, Or A Cautionary Tale First, a bit of background: In 2014 I travelled with a group of artists to Italy—Cinque Terre, Florence, and eventually, Venice. The group went home from Florence, while my good friend and painting pal extraordinaire Benda Bickerstaff-Stanley and I went on the Venice to sketch and paint. To visit Cinque Terre (“Five Lands”), many groups stay in La Spezia, which is just a 5 minute train ride away, and has …

Traveling Alone, Part 3— MY Credit Card(s) Won’t Work, Money for a Hotel, and a 'Bit' More about Phones… When I arrived in Katwijk, the first thing I needed to do was purchase a shopping trolley to carry my painting equipment down to the beach (a covered vertical grocery cart). Normally I would have brought one, but it would have taken up too much room). The owner of the B and B found a local store (Blokker) very close by that carried them, but when I tried to pay with any of my cards, the…