Vagabonds On the Move . . .
A Taste of Treasures from Our Archive!
There’s no podcast this week because we are in transit! We’ve packed our bags and are on the road, headed back to our beloved Athens, Greece! (Curious about what’s in our luggage? Click here!)
In lieu of a podcast this week, we’ve dug into our archive to bring back some of our favorite articles and deep dives for your aesthetic perusal. Enjoy!
Wildstar’s Wednesday Libation:
Meeting these pioneering winemakers completely altered the course of my life. Not only did they awaken my palate to some of the most robust and intricate wines made in the world, they also gave me a firsthand understanding of the meaning of terroir. Everything I thought I knew about wine up to that point went out the window. These are some of my memories from those impressionable visits:
Quintessentially Quaffable Wines: Languedoc-Roussillon
For centuries, the wines of France have been a benchmark for winemakers the world over. And for damn good reason. Perhaps it was a divine message from Bacchus when, in 640 CE, the Romans in Burgundy first noted that the characteristics of the wines grown in one soil differed vastly from neighboring …
Reading:
Need a laugh this week? Click below to read one of our favorite (and funniest) articles of all time, Ryan Wildstar’s delightful recounting of a three-day “glamping” adventure with our friends Alan & Gene!
Digging the Glamping Queens
Although the term “glamping” didn’t appear in the modern vernacular until about 2005 in the United Kingdom to describe overly pampered campers in the moist and mossy British countryside, one could posit that the inauguration of said practice actually occurred on June 7th, 1520 on the
Or listen to Ryan Wildstar’s hilarious audio reading here! (for paid subscribers)
Need some more reading recommendations? Check out the full list of ALL the books we’ve ever discussed on our podcast at The Epicurean Vagabonds Bookshop at Bookshop.org!
Or go here to see all of our reading lists in The Epicurean Vagabonds Bookshop!
Listening:
In 2023, Ryan Elston wrote an article about the “glorious fusion of strings,” singing the praises of those magical musical moments when “a joyful abundance of incredibly talented musicians, from a wide variety of cultural traditions, join forces with their peers to create a diverse and exciting array of gorgeous and scintillating harmonies that simply didn’t exist before.” This article also contains four soothing playlists (Global Fusion Duets, Global Fusion Ensembles, Back to Bach & Genre Fusion) if you need to relax, turn off the news, and take your mind off the chaos of the world.
String Theory: The New Music of Global Fusion
I remember the moment. It was late May of 2016, and Ryan and I were watching the latest episode of Later... with Jools Holland, a British show that has introduced us to more of our favorite new music than just about any other source. Jools jubilantly announced two musicians we had never heard before, F…
Looking:
Have a look at Ryan Elston’s pagan guide to the Louvre (featuring high-quality images of many beautiful statues featuring the gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome & Babylon). “The key to enjoying any museum is (to quote Joseph Campbell): Follow your bliss. And I find my bliss communing with pagan statues in one of the greatest art museums in the world.”
Pagan in Paris: A Pagan Guide to The Louvre Museum
The Louvre Museum is one of the most impressive museums in the world. Frankly, it can be downright overwhelming as there is so much to see. When Ryan and I lived in Paris (from 2000-2005), I was blessed to be in my early 20s and therefore eligible to purchase the
Viewing:
Get ready for a deep dive into the fabulous world of queer cinema! We originally compiled this giant list for Pride Month in 2023, but we’ve recently updated it to include over 150 more great films and documentaries!
Our Big Queer List of Essential LGBTQ+ Films!
[Updated 2/18/25 with over 150 (!) more films, including many great documentaries that weren’t on the original list.]
Tasting:
A Nomad's Dream of Markets, Groceries & Delis! Read Ryan Wildstar’s “supermarket sweep” about grocery shopping in Montreal, Thessaloniki, Paris, Sofia and Skopje:
My Transnational Supermarket Sweep
Sometimes one’s subconscious mind offers up a vision that is simply too emblematic not to write down and share. What follows are the details of a recent dream that thoroughly encapsulates my life as the "kitchen witch” half of this duo known as The Epicurean Vagabonds.
This Week’s Words of Wisdom:
We’re both still mourning the passing of Tina Turner in May 2023. Here’s a compilation of inspiring quotes from her final book, Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good:
Words of Wisdom: Tina Turner's Favorite Quotes
Like most of the world, we’re still mourning Tina Turner, who ascended to Buddhahood last week. We talked at length about Tina on Friday’s podcast, and one of the books we mentioned was her final book: Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good
Enjoy the treasures from our archive! Aesthetic Arrest podcast will return next week!