Oh, I see! moments
Travel Cultures Language

What’s in Your Suitcase?

by Joyce McGreevy on October 9, 2017

A souvenir store in Budapest, Hungary leads a writer to seek the locus of travel inspiration and other aha moments. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Souvenir stores straddle the border between “this place” and “any place.”
© Joyce McGreevy

Collected Travel Inspiration,
With & Without Souvenirs

Souvenirs—talismans of travel inspiration, mere trinkets, or  trash?  Can they inspire aha moments or only memorialize them?

The very word is a souvenir of 18th century French—from souvenir “to remember.” But I like the ancient Latin even better. Subvenire, “to come up from below,” tips its hat to the subconscious. It makes me think of opening old boxes in a basement and finding forgotten treasure, some silly, small item of no value.  And yet  . . .

More Than a Travel Mascot

by Joyce McGreevy on June 26, 2017

A toy canine travel mascot named Bedford, dressed for Maui, inspires his human travel buddy to see the world differently. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

“Have pawsport, will travel,” that’s Bedford’s motto.
© Joyce McGreevy

To See the World Differently,
Take Your Travel Buddy

I have a confession. Although my posts for OIC Moments suggest I’m a solo traveler, that’s not the whole story. Truth is, I never travel without a guide. To some, he’s just a “travel mascot.” To me he’s much more, a travel buddy who helps me see the world differently.

Bedford, take a bow. And a bow-wow.

A toy canine travel mascot named Bedford, dressed in Scottish tartan, inspires his human travel buddy to see the world differently. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Testing the tartan in Scotland . . .
© Joyce McGreevy

A toy canine travel mascot named Bedford, sipping tea in Istanbul, inspires his human travel buddy to see the world differently. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

. . . and the tea in Turkey.
© Joyce McGreevy

Aha Moment Maker: Battle of the Bubbly

by Your friends at OIC on December 28, 2013

Waiter with drinks, illustrating the accidental discovery of champagne, an opportunity for readers to have their own aha moment

CHAMPAGNE, 1668—A Benedictine monk named Dom Pierre Pérignon arrived at the Abbey of Hautvillers near Épernay. His tenure as the cellar master for the abbey’s prized wines began with a challenging assignment.

It seems that unexpected cold snaps in the fall when the wine was bottled had temporarily halted the fermentation of the wine. When temperatures warmed in the spring, the vintage began to ferment for a second time, producing excess carbon dioxide and giving the liquid inside a fizzy quality.

Not only was fizzy wine considered poor winemaking, but bottles in the cellar kept exploding. Dom Pierre Pérignon’s assignment was to correct the situation.

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