Nobody Knows What Time it Is: Seasonal Time Change Confusion

Despite the endless confusion and evident misery, we may never get rid of changing the clocks twice a year.

ThinkingLeslie FarnsworthNovember 27, 2024culture, historyComment

Notes from a Noir Fan: The Definition, History, and Pleasures of American Noir Fiction

Noir fans, like me, have endless theories and stances and opinions about the genre, enough to make me wonder if noir fiction isn’t unique the nebulousness of its definition. (Fitting, no?)

ThinkingLeslie FarnsworthNovember 13, 2024books, writing, culture, historyComment

Never Give a Living Person Mums: How the French Celebrate Toussaint

November 1 on the Catholic calendar is All Saints’ Day. The French have blended the term, making November 1 “la Toussaint” in French parlance.

WanderingLeslie FarnsworthOctober 30, 2024culture, France, historyComment

Recommendations for Reykjavik: What to Do, See, and Eat

If your travel will take you to Reykjavik, here are a few of my suggestions on what to do, see, and eat while in town. The city has a lot to offer and a lot to love!

WanderingLeslie FarnsworthOctober 16, 2024travel, culture, historyComment

The History and Future of Switzerland’s Annual Autumn Cow Parade

At the arrival of autumn in Switzerland, you might be surprised by a procession of beflowered cows and traditionally dressed herders filing down the mountain.

WanderingLeslie FarnsworthSeptember 25, 2024Switzerland, culture, history Comments

Ideas for Day Trips around Burlington, Vermont

When we stayed in Burlington, we had more options for day trips than we had time to take. Here are our favorites—all less than a two-hour drive from town.

WanderingLeslie FarnsworthSeptember 11, 2024travel, history, cultureComment

Why the U.S. Celebrates Labor Day Instead of May Day

If many countries have a holiday to honor laborers, why isn’t it an international holiday celebrated on the same day?

ThinkingLeslie FarnsworthAugust 28, 2024history, culture Comments

The Why and What of the Bears in Bern

If you wander through central Bern, in Switzerland, you might stumble on some bears Natural question: Why? Here’s the full story and the scoop on how to visit.

WanderingLeslie FarnsworthAugust 14, 2024Switzerland, history, cultureComment

Switzerland’s Herens Cattle Breed and the Battle for Cow Queen

In the Valais, the traditional cow breed, the Herens, has renown for its fighting spirit and the hierarchies inherent in its herds. And boy, do they let them fight.

WanderingLeslie FarnsworthMay 22, 2024Switzerland, Culture, historyComment

The Story behind the Avignon Bridge and “Sur Le Pont de Avignon”

The history behind the famous medieval bridge in Avignon, France—still shrouded in mystery, after all these years!—and the song about it that every French child knows.

WanderingLeslie FarnsworthMarch 13, 2024France, history, Culture Comments

Crepes, Coins, Celebrations: The History and Traditions of la Chandeleur

Who wouldn’t want a feast of crepes? La Chandeleur in France has a long history and a few fun traditions to go with the piles and piles of sweet crepes on everyone’s plates.

WanderingLeslie FarnsworthFebruary 21, 2024France, culture, history Comments

No Feasting, but Fasting: The Swiss Federal Fasting Day

Switzerland doesn’t have a feast of thanksgiving, but it does have the opposite: A day of fasting. Say what? Here’s the full story of the Swiss federal fasting day, including its history and how it’s celebrated.

WanderingLeslie FarnsworthNovember 15, 2023Switzerland, history, cultureComment