What’s the biggest thing you’ve ever lost? My answer would be: a car. Okay, I didn’t actually lose it, it was stolen. From our private underground parking lot. Private “securisé” underground parking lot, the one that has two remote control-operated gates. Paris during the school holidays is pretty quiet, so I figured the car thieves thought, let’s hit…
Read More
Do we still have coal, the text message reads. BBQ tonight? In Algiers, our home has become the unofficial Friday or Saturday night hang-out. I attribute it to our roomy outdoor terrace, the pingpong table that doubles as a snack station during parties, and the lack of any other restaurant, bar, or scintillating nightlife in…
Read More
A stronghold, a fortress – the Casbah of Algiers lies in ruin. Up on the hill, we gaze down at the sea while standing between buildings on the verge of collapse, all in different states of disrepair and neglect. We meet up with our guide early on a Friday morning. Below is a sprawling, chaotic…
Read More
Turbulence hits, the seatbelt sign lights up. My daughter leans her head on my lap and I loosen her seatbelt for her – a meaningless gesture of comfort in a very uncomfortable situation. The night before, I lay in bed fretting over a 2-hour flight with a feverish kid. And so here we are. Our…
Read More
I’ve been back in France for about a month now, and things have piled up around here, so I’ll simply backtrack from the most recent happenings… Now, is it just me, or is there something really weird about a train that goes underwater only to pop out in a different country? Apparently, the whole train-under-the-water…
Read More
You know those days, don’t you – those days when you aren’t motivated at all to get out of bed? I have conducted various experiments over the years and have come to the conclusion that music is extremely helpful in dragging your body out of the warm, comfortable covers and into the cruel world … So here I am, still in…
Read More
It’s only 9:30 am, but the sun is already beating down hard in Algeria. At El Djamila port, ex-La Madrague, a seaside town 20 kilometres west of Algiers, fathers are already slathering their agitated children in suntan lotion and are having a hard time doing so. Something about the proximity of open water drives kids…
Read More
Hello, Paris! Nice to see you again! I’ve been back for several days now. It’s nice to be back. Happy to report that the weather is giving France a bit of hope lately – in Paris, it alternates between toasty heat and scary thunderstorms, but I don’t hear anyone complaining. Winter jackets have been stowed…
Read More