Author Archives: Fred Hoyt
Almost in De Nile
3-5-10 Announcing that business Uganda could be summed up in those three numbers, a member of the State Department spent about two hours with us at the formidable US embassy in Kampala. The 3% referred to the population growth in Uganda. I said it’s about 40 million; that would make it 80 million in 24 … Continue reading
The Lion Sleeps Tonight (but not in Kampala)
May 9, 2018 This was Lion country (but not today) 00 19 says my GPS, referring to Kampala, the capital of Uganda. It’s 7824 miles from home—or about 27 hours by plane (via Atlanta and Amsterdam), just north of the Equator. Three street names near the hotel help me put the history of Uganda into … Continue reading
East Side, West Side, all around Berlin
March 15, 2018 While “East Side, West Side, all around the town” was written about New York City, probably no city in the world would have a better claim to East and West than Berlin, which was actually both really and symbolically severed into Eastern and Western zones from the end of World War II … Continue reading
Museums and Palaces in Berlin
March 18, 2018 If you’re thinking our trip was mostly museums and palaces, it’s even less diversified than it sounds; most of the palaces, no longer occupied by Hohenzollerns, ARE museums. And that was even true of our last night’s visit to Charlottenburg, the palace built in what was then the outskirts of the city … Continue reading
Ants and Virgins
Big bottomed ants, a virgin, and tropical dry forest add up to “the most beautiful city in Colombia” January 6, 2018. If you look at the CIA World Fact book, as I did, you’ll get an idea of the expanse of Colombia. Superimposing a Colombian map on the United States stretches the country the length … Continue reading
Villa de Leyva 2 January 4, 2018
January 4, 2018 Villa de Leyva (continued) When we got to explore the city and the region, I found Villa all that I hoped it would be. The Plaza Mayor, the largest public square in Colombia (perhaps outside of Bogota), surrounded by cobblestone streets, and lovely old colonial architecture—the stucco with balconies or overhangs with … Continue reading
Villa De Leyva (1)
Villa de Leyva January 3, 2018 The trip to this city took root over a year ago when, in Cartagena, I read in the Lonely Planet guidebook that Villa de Leyva was one of the best preserved colonial cities in South America. That and about $5 leftover Colombian pesos closed the deal for me. It’s … Continue reading
How to Spend One Day in Florence, but Don’t Try This At Home
August 22, 2017 With only one day, I had to plan carefully to get my ration of churches, forts, palaces—and here, Renaissance art museums. I’m happy to say that, despite the challenges of being one among 22 million, I was reasonably successful. The morning began with a local guide taking us past the highlights: the … Continue reading
The First Italian Meal in America–Verrazzano tartare
August 21, 2017 Twenty-two million tourists visit Florence every year, and while they aren’t all here now, the presence of 22 million in a city of around half a million certainly is obvious. It’s Florence’s biggest business (public restrooms are 1 euro—x million); the other is fashion. The Ferragamo family owns one of the … Continue reading
Two surprising days in Siena
August 20, 2017 When people ask me, “What’s your favorite place,” I usually respond, “Where I am.” While that’s unusually diplomatic for me, it may well be true about where I am now; Siena would definitely earn a place in my top ten. It certainly has many attractions that have kept me busy the last … Continue reading