We visited Japan when my oldest daughter was six, and gave her a camera to document the trip. She took this picture of a holy deer on Miyajima.
ByGD
I Can’t Commit
At the first annual Iceland Writers Retreat, I got to take two workshops from Pulitzer prize-winning writer Geraldine Brooks. For each workshop, she asked us to bring a short piece of writing to introduce ourselves. Because “travel” was the loose theme of the retreat, one of the options was to write 300 words about your favorite place. Here is mine. Read More
ByGD
Crowded Little Rock
A rock theme seems to be emerging here. I guess geology is a little hard to ignore in Iceland. I’m trying to break up the tourist posts with a little bit of reflection, and today I’m thinking about crowded little rocks. I’ve always had a fascination with isolated island nations, and have over the years been infatuated with Japan (before it was popular), Sri Lanka, and now, Iceland. Developed almost in a vacuum, external influences on these places can become disproportionately significant, transformed beyond recognition. Read More