Re: Sunday Supper

On 10/31/2024 4:41 AM, D wrote:

  On Wed, 30 Oct 2024, Citizen Winston Smith wrote:
 

That reminds me when I was looking to buy a european to japanese power adapter, since I forgot mine. I went into a huge 2 x 9 story electronics store, and asked for help. Instead of just getting the reply "floor 1, section A", they used a walkie talkie to send out a call, then they walked me personally to the section, and then with the help of the specialized colleague of that section, they then found the european adapter for me.
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Never have I experienced such service in sweden!

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That's such a heartening thing for a traveler to rely on.
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I hate travelling, but I love arm chair travelling! I wish I could convince my wife about the wonders of arm chair travelling. ;)

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Paul Theroux is a nice start, or the late Michael Chrichton (yes he did more than Jurassic Park and Andromeda Strain).
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Bill Bryson is prickly but usually a good read.

 Michael Crichton? Had no idea!

It seems odd, were you aware of his credentialed medical background?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Crichton
Crichton received an M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1969 but did not practice medicine, choosing to focus on his writing instead. Initially writing under a pseudonym, he eventually wrote 26 novels, including: The Andromeda Strain (1969), The Terminal Man (1972), The Great Train Robbery (1975), Congo (1980), Sphere (1987), Jurassic Park (1990), Rising Sun (1992), Disclosure (1994), The Lost World (1995), Airframe (1996), Timeline (1999), Prey (2002), State of Fear (2004), and Next (2006). Several novels, in various states of completion, were published after his death in 2008.
Crichton became well known for attacking the science behind global warming. He testified on the subject before Congress in 2005.[98] His views would be contested by a number of scientists and commentators.
https://www.michaelcrichton.com/works/travels/
Synopsis
“Often I feel I go to some distant region of the world to be reminded of who I really am.”
When Michael Crichton — a Harvard-trained physician, bestselling novelist, and successful movie director — began to feel isolated in his own life, he decided to widen his horizons. He tracked wild animals in the jungles of Rwanda. He climbed Kilimanjaro and Mayan pyramids. He trekked across a landslide in Pakistan. He swam amid sharks in Tahiti.
Fueled by a powerful curiosity and the need to see, feel, and hear firsthand and close-up, Michael Crichton has experienced adventures as compelling as those he created in his books and films. These adventures — both physical and spiritual — are recorded here in Travels, Crichton’s most astonishing and personal work.