AN OVERTURE IN BASALT
GEOLOGY AND MUSIC seemed like a strange mix. Until, that is, I learned more about Felix Mendelssohn’s Opus 26, The Hebrides, which is also known as Die Fingalshöne, Fingal’s Cave. … Continue reading
FRANCE FOR THE MOTORIST, 1927
CHARLES L. FREESTON legitimately appended F.R.G.S. to his name. Indeed, he was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences. In the … Continue reading
DRIVING A PARISIAN TAXICAB
LISTENING TO Gershwin’s wonderful American in Paris, complete with its taxi horns, brought back memories of my stint as a Parisian taxicab driver. It was in the 1980s. Auto journalist … Continue reading
SWEDISH ROADS AS RUNWAYS—U.S. AND U.K. TOO?
THE TOP SECRET part of the photo shoot was Saab’s EV-1 concept car—not the Viggen jet fighter. And this was why we were on the runway of a Swedish Air … Continue reading
WILL THE REAL BAYREUTH PLEASE STAND OUT
THE WORD “BAYREUTH” conjures up composer Richard Wagner, Der Ring des Nibelungen and the Richard-Wagner-Festspielhaus, his opera house built in 1876. Or so I thought until I came upon the … Continue reading
WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE ESTORIL
THE APRIL 2016 issue of Saveur, my favorite magazine of cuisine (and travel) brought back memories of Ayrton Senna’s first Formula One victory, the Portuguese Grand Prix, Estoril, 1985. I … Continue reading
PACIFIC COAST TOURING
“AUTOMOBILE TOURING on the Pacific Coast is altogether a different matter from that of tooling about the East.” This claim comes from Charles Fuller Gates, a travel, bicycle and motoring … Continue reading
PRISON FOOD
WELL, DOES the Casa di Reclusione Milano Bollate sound like a setting for an Italian restaurant? Then again, it is Milan’s Bollate Prison, a medium-security slammer. No matter, because InGalera, … Continue reading
TOURING EUROPE
MANY OF YOU might be planning motoring excursions in Europe. Indeed, I realize that some of you already live there and don’t really need the following advice. However, maybe even … Continue reading
THE TALE (AND SCENES) OF GENJI
THE TALE OF GENJI is noteworthy for several reasons: This 11th-century work of Japanese literature has been called the world’s first novel. It was more than just a tale; its … Continue reading
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