-
Make-A-Wish
We’re always up for a charitable way to mix philanthropy and beer (or wine), so when my friend Lori put it out there that she planned to hike 28.something crazy miles to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, we asked, “Great. Where’s the beer?” She answered, “Down in Greensboro, you silly kids.” Actually, she and…
-
Cervezas La Pedriza
North of Madrid lie mountains. The city reminds me of Denver, in its position on a high plain, backed up by large-scale rocks beckoning you out of the bustle and into the hills. My love had once lived in Madrid, and climbed on the walls and boulders around La Pedriza. My modest climbing career had…
-
Alhambras in Zafarraya
The drive over the tracks took us up and around the mountains…just getting out of our friends’ house near the shadows of La Maroma, the grand mountain in the Sierras de Tejeda. The lady turns purple in the sunset, but we had the full afternoon sun upon her as we set out. This corner of…
-
BierKraft, Sevilla
When the bartender totaled up my purchases, he nodded with appreciation. Buenas elecciones! So proud, I felt, after a fun evening sipping from the selection of draft craft beers at BierKraft in the heart of Sevilla. We had visited before, stopping in the afternoon with our dogs, for a respite during our regular ventures into…
-
Four Peaks In PHX
Strangers meet in airports—it’s such a cliché, yet it happens every day. Our intersections bring together disparate folks on a shared mission, Point A to Point B, sometimes on a journey extended by extenuating circumstances. The pair next to me chatted merrily—if at high volume— as I took a stool at Four Peaks Brewing in…
-
La Botica De La Cerveza, Málaga
Not far from the castillo in what was once (and still is) the rough border/port town of Málaga, wandering the side streets and into La Victoria, you can find the craft beer sene percolating away, giving you options beyond the Guinness and the Cruzcampos you might be subjected to on the Plaza de la Merced.…
-
Hops & Dreams in Sevilla
It was a snapshot in time and we crossed paths for a few moments. S agreed that the man striking up conversation with us looked a lot like Bill Nighy—except we found out he was a Dane, moving from place to place, following work around the world as a musician and producer. Maybe it was…
-
Ground Burger, Saldanha
We attack shopping at El Corte Inglês like it’s a major international expedition, which it is: We’re strangers in a strange land. It’s going into foreign territory to leave our quiet town and subject ourselves to the Mall. It takes planning, fortitude—and surely a reward at the end. For me, that’s twice now we’ve landed…
-
Time Stop: Açores
Nothing prepares you for the scale of the Açores islands. A short, two-hour flight from Lisbon (or twice that from Boston), and you’re there—this impossibly green flotilla of masted ships clinging loosely to each other in the midst of the Atlantic. Only Terceira (“third” in Portuguese) is vaguely round. The remainder of the archipelago form…
-
I Almost Never Left MCO
I ponder yet another trip to Florida–always for work; I almost never go there by choice. Not that there’s anything wrong with the state (I’m a fan of Tim Dorsey’s Serge Storms), but I get my fill during these annual sojourns on business. For a period of my life, I flew “non-rev” on the good…