Fine Things You Can Afford simple pleasures and everyday indulgences
Inspired Sandwiches
I fly through Zurich a lot, connecting to Lugano. When I don’t have time to hit the Swiss Airlines Lounge, I’m dashing to the transfer gates in Terminal A, where the little Darwin Airlines flights to Lugano depart. That’s where I discovered Panopolis, a new brand of sandwich shop founded by SSP, a [...]
Traditional Czech Handicrafts
On a recent trip to Prague, I bought several gifts and souvenirs in the chain stores Manufaktura. They’re all over Old Town you’ll pass several in a typical day sightseeing. They’re filled with beautiful handcrafted bath salts, soaps, Christmas ornaments and wooden toys; I found bits and bobs for myself, friends and family. [...]
Breakfast at El Tovar
This Fine Thing You Can Afford was suggested by Wendy Redal, who blogs on travel at the Giaim Stream of Consciousness blog.
The El Tovar Hotel lies just 20 feet from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Opened in 1905, it is the quintessential Park Lodge. Dinner is pricey; breakfast there is a Fine [...]
Beautiful notebooks
Until just a few years ago I bought the cheapest spiral-bound notebooks I could find. I mean Wal-Mart back-to-school special kind of cheap. I probably got the idea from Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones or Long Quiet Highway. I think the logic was hardcore Zen, don’t get too attached to any [...]
Fine Wines You Can Afford
Down the street from my house there’s a Tamoil gas station. It’s a normal-looking gas station… pumps, convenience store, industrial vacuum next to two car wash bays.
Step inside, though, and you have a taste of local life. The espresso bar is full of workers day in, day out. In the morning the smell of cream-filled, [...]
The Perfect Percentage
What’s your perfect percentage? For a fun little after-dinner activity, taste test chocolate bars from lowest to highest concentration of cocoa. You may want to start lower than my friends and I did yesterday; we’re in Switzerland and eat our chocolate dark. We set out four chocolate bars: 68%, 70%, 72% and 76%. [...]
Cool stuff from Kodak Gallery
What do you get for people who have everything? I’m hooked on personalized gifts from Kodak Gallery. The prices are affordable, the quality consistently high and I’ve even had a fantastic customer service experience.
That last point is remarkable because for me a fantastic customer service experience sounds like this, “We’d be happy to [...]
A day at Lavey-les-Bains
Near the famous waters of Evian, France you can probably afford three (24 Swiss francs) or four hours at Lavey-les Bains. Locals say the words lovingly, as in, “Ooooooooooooh, you’re going to Lavey-les-Bains? Today? Maybe I’ll drop everything and come along…” Remarkably, it wasn’t crowded when my friend Amy and I were [...]
A drink at the Principe Leopoldo
I write this Web site because I’ve been working part-time 32 weeks a year on a teacher’s salary and living like a Queen. Ok, not really like a Queen, but I go places and see things and meet people as if I am rich. So often I think to myself, “Life is good.” [...]
Cheeseburger in Paradise
In 1978 Jimmy Buffett’s Son of a Son of a sailor album featured a song called Cheeseburger in Paradise. He says it’s about a place in Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. I’ve heard it’s about a great place I’ve been on Cabbage Key, Florida. No matter. The point is this: all up and [...]
On the subject of radio…
Should you find yourself in Boulder, Colorado another Fine Thing You Can Probably Afford is a taping of the radio show, ETown. ETown is an old-style variety show, featuring some of today’s best musical artists alongside recipient’s of the weekly E-Chievement awards, honoring listener-nominated people who are making a difference in communities coast-to-coast and [...]
Great Radio Shows
Story Corps is a great idea. It’s a set of mobile recording studios that travel around the country recording the stories of people from all walks of life. There’s also a StoryBooth in Grand Central Station in New York City. Stories of love, inspiration, hardship, grief, gratitude — it’s all there. Sometimes [...]