Category Archives: Europe

Art Bar

I love this animated video (below) from Whitehouse Animation. The brilliant short features works by Edvard Munch, Henri Matisse, Yves Tanguy, Salvador Dali, Marc Chagall, Paul Klee, Jackson Pollock, Vincent Van Gogh, Norval Morriseau, Pablo Picasso, Hieronymus Bosch and George … Continue reading →

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The Enemies of Books

The Enemies of Books is a book on biblioclasts and book preservation by the 19th-century bibliophile and book collector William Blades. The book was first published in 1880 and has been republished in different editions many times since. In the book, Blades, a well-known collector, … Continue reading →

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Light Show

After many visits to Iceland, we were finally rewarded with sightings of the spectacular Aurora Borealis three nights in a row on our last trip. I didn’t take any videos, but I just ran across this wonderful short film compilation  … Continue reading →

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Library Lovers’ Month

Innerpeffray Library, Innerpeffray, Perthshire, Scotland is the oldest lending library in the nation, founded in 1680 by David Drummond, 3rd Lord Madertie. The original library collection was only 400 books, but eventually grew to over 5,000, including rarities, first editions, … Continue reading →

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Life Lingers On Blank Pages

Regular visitors to TBTP know that I am a huge admirer of the Spanish street art collective known as Luz Interruptus. They recently completed this extraordinary installation for the first International Festival of Light at the beautiful Plaza Mayor in … Continue reading →

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A National Icon

Regular visitors to TBTP know that I am very serious about coffee. I am so commited to drinking good coffee that I actually roast my own green coffee beans. When I travel, the first thing that I research after  accommodations … Continue reading →

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Down and Out in Paris

In 1928, a former Colonial police officer and aspiring author named Eric Arthur Blair moved from his London home to Paris in order to buckle down and launch his writing career. The move didn’t work out so well, but it … Continue reading →

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The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men

John Steinbeck took the title of his 1937 novel “Of Mice and Men” from a line contained in the penultimate stanza of ” To a Mouse”, On Turning her up in her Nest, with the Plough, November 1785. by Robert … Continue reading →

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If you see one coming, you should run

Aa a child I was fascinated by the old European Jewish tales of the Golem. When I visited Prague just after the Velvet Revolution, I had the opportunity to walk the streets of the ancient Ghetto and see the places … Continue reading →

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I have passport envy

Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sophie Wilmès launched the new Belgian passport. A document that is even more secure thanks to new security and personalization techniques. The new Belgian passport will also be recognizable thanks to … Continue reading →

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