Seeing a Tim Hortons was a new, but welcome sight as I departed my plane at a Canadian airport. Tim had coffee and that's what I needed, I ordered a large drip with room for cream. What i was given was a very, very small sized cup. I brought it back requesting my large order, but sadly I learned that the cup I was given was consider a large by European standards. So, I ordered another and pondered this new thing.

I appreciate the European way for many things, like their smaller portions and lack of 'too much.' Except, when it comes to coffee. In Paris, the coffee is strong and small, in Amsterdam, a flat white is the thing, and in Italy, espressos and cappuccinos are what you order. Ireland is all about the cappuccino too, unless you want a Guinness. Drip coffee is not offered! And, these tiny cups of caffeine take about 4 sips to be finished. That's it!

There are hundreds of bikes on every street corner in Amsterdam, thousands sometime. All pedestrians must look left, the direction the bike riders travel from if you want to survive on the street, let alone cross it. It's a crazy experience for first time visitors, as ...

I'm surprised by how little I hear about Valentines on the air. There could be an event, a mass wedding, a Galentines lunch. And why not, love is love is love is love. Evening request and dedication shows are guaranteed good content on this night. It's a consumer ...

I'm sitting on a flight with a bevy of travel,era, watching as drinks and trays pass by us until it's our turn to feast on whatever food the airline offers. Then, we remain captured while waiting to have the tray removed. For the longest time airplane food was a joke, ...

How did I get so lucky to ring in 2020 from Florence, Italy!? I'm sure my Italian relatives in heaven were dancing with me in the piazza while a man who looked like my Uncle Tommy deejayed a set that would challenge any of today's EDM greats. To get the image: Uncle ...

As I pull out my grandmother's Christmas mementos, I wonder what she would think about all the online Christmas cards and shopping happening all around. My physical mailbox brings some photos of friends and their families, these are a welcome treat. But, honestly, ...

Don't rush! How about that for a Christmas message? The Christmas countdown is on, and instead of a sprint to the finish ,what do you say we handle it like a walking marathon, if there even is such a thing. Instead of immediately asking a friend or listener if their ...

'Gratitude' has re-entered our cultural vernacular. In our swirling world of news and trending topics that challenge our beliefs, it seems we can all camp out on the same word: gratitude. Thanksgiving is the season that brings college kids home, and puts a turkey (or a ...

Here they come: all holidays are present and accounted for on all store shelves. Halloween,Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and probably New Year's, too. We can give such a generic critique to this phenomenon. But I want to nudge you a little deeper to consider the ...

Many Saturday morning gym classes are filled with mom's happy to get up early for a chance to work out. School schedules pack a mom's morning with a very busy routine of needs ("'Mom I need my permission slip signed!") Ask a mom what she'd like to have more of and ...