Tomorrow

March 2013 - Central Park, New York, NY

Collective Pangs

of Loss
Grief
Anger
Fear
and an immeasurable Disheartening

March 2013 - Palamidi Fortress, Nafplio, Greece

On the Move

March 2013 - Athens, Greece

Olives Beyond Olives

March 2013 - Nafplio, Greece

Crisis 4

March 2012 - Athens, Greece

Crisis 3

March 2012 - Athens, Greece

Crisis 2

March 2012 - Athens, Greece

Crisis

March 2013 - Constitution Square, Athens, Greece

Loved Ones

March 2013 - Nafplio, Greece

"Pirooz"

Happy Persian New Year!

March 2012 - Dallas, TX

Delectables

Kali'spera from Greece!

March 2013 - Athens, Greece

It's almost Persian New Year and seeing these pastries in an unbelievably fragrant Athens pastry shop this weekend was a sore reminder that I am missing out on the annual festivities with my family this year for the first time. Looking forward to some lovely baklava though to make up for it!

Charm City

Been missing "Balti" a bit recently. I know, I'm surprised too...

September 2011 - Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD

It's a bit of an underdog (an afterthought, or D.C.'s shadow). It is home to some of the worst crime, the worst stats, the worst you-can't-even-imagine-it situations for a kid to grow up in.

But there's something about being down at the harbor on a Spring day and smelling that harbor-water breeze as the sunset saturates every color and glint of light from the lapping crests. There's just something about riding the bus or the Charm City Circulator on a lazy weekend afternoon and watching your driver slow down in the middle of the street to call out a "Hey, friend!" out the window to an acquaintance.

It's not a pretentious city.
And it's certainly not one note - from Hampden to Canton, the Hopkins campuses to Fed Hill, Fells Point, Mt. Vernon, and then the blight of West and East Baltimore, you happen upon different people, a different tempo, a different style. But it's all part of Bawlmore. You get comfortable there, wrapped up in a small town feeling, despite its size and population, which outranked D.C. in 2011.

To tell you the truth though, there is a sadness that hangs in the sticky, humid air in the summer and in the wind that fiercely whips at your face and hands in the winter. Or maybe that's just the way I remember it. But it's why I refused to love this city. I've been heartbroken too many times.
I came across a poetic and brutally honest article recently: When You're in Love with a Broken City. It's quite short; definitely worth a read.

See ya next time, Hon.