travel

Life Without Internet II

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

What would you do (or not do) without the internet? My original post of this title didn’t even consider this question. It was just about the wonky internet cafe I visit when my home internet doesn’t work. Which I suppose is directly related to my inability to even consider a single day of life without internet. I’ll amend that. I’ve gone for a single day without internet many times in my life. But I’ve typically spent that day scheming about how I would get internet tomorrow.

Especially as an extremely mobile expat, I keep large areas of my life online. And since people keep arriving at my blog lately in search of answers to the thorny problem of Life Without Internet, I’ll give you my thoughts. … Read more

In the Valley of the Temples

In the Valley of the Temples

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

I have now visited ancient Greece, although we have not left the Italian island of Sicily. I can happily report that “one of the most important archaeological sites in Europe” lives up to its reputation. Magnificently. Even glimpsed from a distance, as we have seen it every day on our walks through the eucalyptus grove near Stathis and Elettra’s house, the “Valley of Temples” looked like something so lovely and classical as to seem almost unreal. And actually standing in the shadow of those temples was even more awesome than I had imagined it would be. Ancient Roman ruins impress me, but ancient Greek ruins move me.… Read more

Happy Hour, Italian-Style

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

It’s the Bohemian retreat you’ve always wanted to visit. Our delightful friends, Stathis and Elettra, have invited us to spend our Sicilian week at their house, and the house is as interesting and hospitable as the hosts. On the desk where I’m writing this, a small Yoda stares across my computer at an eight-inch-high Eiffel tower. Nearby, a lava lamp presides benignly over a miniature zen garden that hasn’t been raked in weeks, and is now home to a large cowrie shell and a lavender silk rose. Elettra is an artist, and her colorful paintings decorate every room, paired with movie posters, photos of her all over Europe, and hand-lettered quotes.… Read more

Get Me to the Church on Time

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

When Tony and I lived on BYU campus as newlyweds, we pretty much walked straight out our front door into the Mormon chapel, which was also on campus. Forgot an extra diaper? No problem (please tell me I’m not the only mother who’s ever done this). There was no hassle if one of us needed to be at Church early. And home/visiting teaching was a piece of cake. Tony still loves to tell about his Elder’s Quorum President, who stood up in opening exercises one morning to recount a conversation in which his father (also Elder’s Quorum President in his own ward) begged to know his secret for achieving 100% home teaching.… Read more

Italian Flashbacks

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Apparently, our internet company has reached a deal with our landlord. For the next week, our internet will be on from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. every day. Too bad we haven’t had jet-lag in over a year. But I guess it’s better than nothing. Fortunately, my clever husband already schedules some of his work time from 5-8 a.m., so it’s not completely wasted. We’re spending next week at a friend’s house in Sicily to rewind our visas, so hopefully everything will be straightened out by the time we return. Just for fun, I checked to see if my Italian residency document is ready to pick up yet, but no dice.… Read more

Not Really a Fashion Blog Either

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

I lose things incorrigibly. Keys, papers, library books, driver’s licenses; you name it, I’ve lost it. This Sunday I lost my favorite hat. I left it in the taxi on the way to church in Tunis. Sigh. After vainly craning my neck to peer in every taxi that passed by for the rest of the day, I had to face the sad truth. My hat was gone, never to be found again.

I’m not a big sunscreen person. I have sensitive skin prone to break out either in zits or red blotches when stuff gets put on it. And I also wear glasses.… Read more

Next Stop, Narnia

Sarah Bringhurst Familia


This is one of Dominique’s favorite shirts. He’s quite strict about when he wears it, though. He will only put it on in the morning if he knows that the day holds some form of travel. Axa shares his passion for getting from one place to another. But for her, the world is not enough. Lately she has expressed a frequent lament that Narnia is not real. She would like to travel there. In fact, the other day I found this drawing on her desk:

In case you had trouble deciphering the spelling, let me give you hint: Who could resist a direct flight to Narnia on Aslan Airlines?… Read more

Philippines Travelogue Postscript: Hong Kong

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

I just can’t stop writing about this trip. As promised, here is the exciting final conclusion to our Philippines trip: our layover in Hong Kong. (If you missed any episodes in the Philippines series, you can find them all together here.)

As the vintage double-decker bus wound up the wooded peak, we considered our state of affairs with a mixture of dismay and wild anticipation. We were on our way to the top of Victoria Peak, number one on every list of Hong Kong Island’s numerous attractions. That we had no money to get back down to the airport for our flight home, which left in a mere three hours, had not concerned us much when we boarded the bus.… Read more

A Trip to Old Carthage

Sarah Bringhurst Familia


After completing our tour of the Bardo Museum, we still had an afternoon left, so we set off to visit the ruins of Carthage. Carthage is, in fact, still inhabited. We go there every Sunday to visit our friends who work at the embassy. It is now a posh suburb of Tunis, resplendent with nice villas and palm trees. But back in the day, it was the domain of Dido (who is called Elissa here, and appears on coins and bills, cell phone commercials, and anywhere else an imperiously beautiful woman is needed). Because the Romans sacked and took possession of the city at the conclusion of the third Punic War, most of the sites now are Roman.… Read more

Mosaic Hunt at the Bardo Museum

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Yesterday we went to the Tunis airport to rescue a package from the catacombs of customs. Eventually we lost count of how many times we went from office to office, collecting and relinquishing slips of white, pink, and yellow paper. When the long-awaited moment for recovering the package finally arrived, we were in suspense about how much duty they would charge us. With each trip to a new office, we pictured the duty going up, until by the end we were fully expecting to pay hundreds of dollars for our package. So when the customs official bestowed a final stamp and signature on our pile of papers and announced, “nine dinar,” (about $7.00),  Tony almost laughed in relief.… Read more