On our trip to Peru last year, we first traveled south, past all the depressing shanty towns of Lima, mainly to see the pre-Columbian Nazca Lines. This post continues my [...]
Seeing the shanty towns south of Lima on the very first day we were traveling in Peru last summer left an indelible impression on me. Never in my life had [...]
My favorite photo from our walk along the Regent's Canal Towpath: My brother bending his way through one of its tunnels. I have another virtual trip for you: [...]
Whenever I think of the Ballestas Islands, I see this image in my mind. It is my favorite photo of our entire trip to Peru. As we are [...]
This summer, I finally had to give you up. I embarked on my trip to Peru with a new version of you, Just as comfortable and snug, but water tight. [...]
View of Sand Beach, Acadia National Park, Maine, May 2019 Before we left on our recent trip to Acadia National Park, an acquaintance recommended I read Evangeline - A Tale [...]
When you arrive in Petra, you have a fairly long walk from the visitor center to the actual archaeological site. Along the way, however, you can already see multiple cave [...]
If our first stop in Jordan, Jerash, was windswept and chilly, it was downright cold at the Amman Citadel. The Amman Citadel has been a site of fortresses dating back [...]
This past January I was fortunate enough to be able to cross one of the places I always wanted to see off my bucket list: Petra, Jordan. Mind you, this [...]
Parc Montsouris, Paris, September 2017 I have a new essay published in Bella Grace Issue 19, which hits newsstands today! I can't even begin to tell you how [...]
The WhatsApp message that began the daily ritual: "Here a photo for you, view from our hotel, you also sent me such nice photos of the big wide world [...]
On our recent trip to Boston, we visited Plimouth Plantation. As often happens when traveling, you go out to see one thing and discover another. Plimouth Plantation hadn't been the [...]
"...when [you] remember feeling joyfully bound to the whole earth or even universe -- [those moments] are most likely to be associated with being alone, and often alone outside." found [...]
I always knit when I'm on a plane, or crochet. In fact, if I have a flight coming up, and I don't have a knitting project going, I frantically cast [...]
Turns out my one day of pure R&R this summer was spent crossing Lake Michigan on the SS Badger Ferry (our trip to New Orleans wasn't exactly R&R). Assembling this [...]
Not a place where we could eat, but it was still fun to see Paul Prudhomme's original restaurant still operational. I have his Fork in the Road cookbook, and his [...]
I might be good at writing my Morning Pages, but I am horrible at keeping Artist Dates. These are two of the three pillars sustaining a creative life, according to [...]
Why is it so meaningful to return to your roots? To where your ancestors are from? To visit places you only know from stories and pictures? I’ve asked myself that every [...]
This is my favorite photo of our trip to Venice last March: My brother's hands caught taking a photo of the Grand Canale as we were standing on the Rialto [...]
Today I'm happy to share my essay "Jewish Encounters in a Non-Jewish Land," published recently in the brand-spanking new Sasson Magazine. Please head on over [...]
...visit the Montfort Castle in northern Israel. As my contribution to the Field Guide to Everyday Magic Blog Hop, I'm sharing how I finally did so because I have found [...]
My book and I just had the great fortune of spending time in Jerusalem. For me it was an "again," and, while my book per se had not been to [...]
In time for Easter, my essay "At the Church of the Holy Sepulchre" appeared on Jerusalem Moments. With it, I thought I'd share a few photos from and around this [...]
Today is the publication date of my memoir Jumping Over Shadows! Hurray! And thus I offer you my very first book companion post, a series I plan to run every [...]
Scottish Highlands, August 2015 Today the winter issue of Artful Blogging hits newsstands, and it features my photo essay "The Accidental Travel Blogger." This is a dream come true for [...]
While we were visiting Minute Man National Historical Park last weekend, we stopped for lunch in the nearby colonial town of Concord, where I noticed two old graveyards in the [...]
The Warsaw Jewish Cemetery is a forest of its own. (Photo by Rivka Schiller) […]
My favorite place in Ireland is the Giant's Causeway on the coast of Antrim in Northern Ireland. I love the mystery of it, i.e. the fact that even geologists are [...]
Dunluce Castle, Northern Ireland {August Break 8/11: Green} Today's August Break prompt of "green" is the perfect kick in the behind for me to share some of my [...]
Perhaps because, unlike sites like the Terracotta Warriors (which had been my number one China bucket list item--photos soon!), I had no preconceptions, no one else's images in my head [...]
St. George's Monastery, Wadi Qelt Always, always, I have wanted to see the Greek Orthodox monasteries of Marsaba and St. George, built into the cliffs of the Judean Hills. But [...]
Today I found out by happenstance, via Facebook, that a friend of mine passed away. We weren't close friends or I would have known that her battle with cancer had [...]
To summarize my stay in Jerusalem this summer in one blog post? It's a tall order, but here goes. We spent an inordinate amount of time on an exceedingly hot [...]
We took a weekend "side" trip to London from Scotland to visit relatives and tour a little. Here are my best shots from that sojourn. We did the touristy thing [...]
For the last few days of this year I decided to run a "Best of..." series to pay homage to some of the best times this year, i.e. travels and [...]
I haven’t been around because I’ve been chilling, and before I was chilling, I was traveling—days crammed with stuffing suitcases, riding taxes and buses, making it to the airport on time, [...]
Any market is a feast for the eyes, and a shuk (= Middle Eastern market, pronounced "shook") is especially so. It is also a photographer's paradise. All those colors, shapes, [...]
The cold is getting to me (Chicago's high is 17F today), so it's time for memories of warmer days and an entirely different landscape than winter's bleak outside. I haven't [...]
Today is Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, so I thought I'd share another glimpse of Israel, from a day trip my daughter and I took to Akko in July. [...]
I'd seen photographs of the mirror-like quality of the Amazon in National Geographic, but to find myself floating on it was a whole other experience. I spent the better [...]
Since I'm still preoccupied with my daughter being in Israel, I thought I'd share some of my photos taken while walking around or sitting in cafés in Tel Aviv, providing [...]
On our two-day Amazon adventure in between attending World Cup games in Manaus, Brazil, we stayed overnight in a floating lodge, the Tauari Inn. I will share more photos from [...]
In between attending two World Cup games in Manaus, the capital city of the Amazon, we had time to explore the river and the rain forest. When we were visiting [...]
A snippet of what it was like to be in the stadium during a World Cup game I had the good fortune to travel with two of my children to [...]
This photo is from one of my jaunts during my time at the VCCA. Since I'm bummed by all the snow we've had, yet again, here at home in Chicago, [...]
President Jefferson's Monticello estate in winter While I was at the VCCA, I visited Monticello, President Thomas Jefferson's estate. It is near Charlottesville, a good hour's drive from [...]
New York - January Beacon Theatre on Broadway - the announcement of the Groenemeyer Concert caught my eye and led to a wonderful concert experience later in Chicago. {related blog [...]
The Make Way for Ducklings sculpture in the Public Garden in Boston, created by Nancy Schön Oh, the power of fiction! Especially children's fiction! It had my kids and me retracing [...]
Spinning wheel at the Steeple Building, Bishop Hill, Illinois On our visit to Bishop Hill, my friend Barbara and I spent a considerable amount of time in the Steeple Building, [...]
Bishop Hill Post Office These days I am itching for some serenity, probably because my family's summer schedule isn't really a schedule. As soon as I'm into a new routine, [...]
