Inaugural Issue - January 2022

So what is this?

A nice and friendly newsletter for friends of Nemo Nox. Now that I'm absent from social media, this is my new way of keeping people informed: a good old email message once in a while telling you where I am and what I've been doing. And yes, eventually including pictures of food (you know my priorities).

So what's up?

I decided that in 2022 I would move again. You know I've moved several times, to different cities, countries, and continents. This time, however, I'm not only moving but also changing the way I move. I will no longer have a fixed address for longer than a few months. Right now I am in Washington DC for a few days, saying goodbye to the city where I lived from 2006 to 2012. Mid January I leave for Lisbon, and stay in Portugal until April. From there I go to Sofia, capital of Bulgaria, and then to Bucharest, capital of Romania, where I stay until July. The next destination hasn't been chosen yet.

I had to make a few adjustments to be able to adopt this nomadic life. In my last apartment, in Baltimore, I was host to quite a few books, plus all those other things we collect along the way and never really use. After a little triage, I donated 30 boxes of books. Another 80 boxes remained (approximately 5,000 volumes), which now sleep in a storage unit in Virginia. The rest, including furniture, kitchen gadgets, and assorted decoration objects, was also donated. I only kept the clothes and shoes that I could accomodate in three suitcases, plus a small laptop computer and a small photo camera. Just what I can carry with me without many complications. I will miss a few conveniences, like my tetsubin (cast-iron kettle for making tea) or the large screens (both tv and computer). But the feeling of lightness and being untethered is already settling in. That's my new life. Some people call it being a digital nomad. Others say I'm just a tourist who travels very slowly.

So what about Washington?

Washington DC is one of my three favorite cities in the USA (the other two, in no particular order, are New Orleans and New York). Since my flight to Portugal departs from Dulles International Airport, not far from here, I decided to arrive ten days earlier and frolic around. My first days here were sunny and warm, and then the snow arrived and everything is white now.

The first item on my list of places to visit once again was the glorious National Gallery of Art. I have logged so many hours inside that museum that seeing some of those paintings is like meeting old friends again. A few are very popular, and there are always visitors wanting to have their photo taken with them. Like da Vinci's Ginevra de' Benci, the only Leonardo painting in exhibition in the Americas. Or van Gogh's Self-Portrait, the one with a blue background contrasting with his pale skin and red hair. Or that couple playing with their dog in front of the house in Hopper's Cape Cod Evening. But I also like to meander through the least visited corners in the museum and find the paintings and sculptures that few people see.

I have also been walking around the city visiting all those post card places (Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Roosevelt Memorial, etc). And, of course, tasting the local grubs in restaurants that I still remember from the time I lived here.

Next stop: Lisboa.