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Patrick W. O'Bryon
Writer. Traveler. Europhile, especially Italy and France. Hobbies: rescuing animals from abuse, abandonment and mistreatment, and being sous chef around the kitchen to my chef de cuisine wife.
Blogroll
Corridor of Darkness, A Novel of Nazi Germany (paperback)
Tag Archives: European travel
FIVE HIDDEN SEASIDE SPOTS IN ITALY AND FRANCE WELL WORTH A VISIT
My WWII espionage novel Crucible of Deceit sends the protagonist on a treacherous wartime mission through Vichy France and fascist Italy. Off-the-beaten-path locales featured in this latest Corridor of Darkness novel are well worth a visit, so here are a … Continue reading
THE MAN WHO WOULD BE RYAN LEMMON, SPY
Many of you have asked for some factual background on the man who inspired this multi-faceted and multi-talented character in the Corridor of Darkness novels. In his postwar years my father, Dr. Leonard O’Bryon, was known as a beloved professor … Continue reading
DON’T LOOK NOW, BUT COVERT OPERATIVE RYAN LEMMON MAY BE TAILING YOU AGAIN!
From time to time interested readers have been asking when a new sequel to the Corridor of Darkness trilogy might appear. After all, three years (and a pandemic) have passed since publication of novel number four in the series, Echoes … Continue reading
MY ODDEST EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS
During the Cold War era I spent a few years in Germany, first as a twenty-one-year-old graduate student and then with the military. I spent my first Christmas holiday season putting a Eurailpass to good use, randomly hopping on or off … Continue reading
PRAGUE REDUX: How Things Have Changed
Some of you may recall an earlier travel memoir (How to Risk a Stretch in Soviet Prison under “Travel Memoirs” to the right) detailing the misadventures of leading a group of college students through the ice- and communist-bound Prague of the … Continue reading
Posted in European Travel, Travel Memoir, Uncategorized
Tagged Beer, Charles Bridge, Czech beer, Czech Republic, Europe, European travel, Hotel Leonardo, Prague, U Valsu, Vltava
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WHY VENICE STILL CALLS OUT TO ME…
Venice, Italy…7 a.m. Children laughing on their way to school, backpacks flapping as they run across the Accademia bridge. A bakery displaying fresh wares, the narrow street still dark, the shop’s windows warmly lit and calling the passer-by in. Street … Continue reading
Posted in European Travel
Tagged Donna Leon, Espresso, Europe, European travel, Grand Canal, Inspector Brunetti, Italian travel, Italy, Venice
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HELLUVA WAY TO FIRST SEE EUROPE: The Seagoing Life’s Not for Everyone
I awakened to total silence. I had fallen asleep to the raucous laughter, boozing, amorous groping and other fulfilling activities which mark a last night at sea with a shipload of grad students, all off for a year in Europe. … Continue reading
OF COURSE IT’S SAFE TO DRINK THE WATER…An Adventure in Old Spain
The whole second half of our Spanish journey hadn’t gone exactly as planned, so why was I surprised to wake up to a smiling physician about to inject me in the butt with a huge hypodermic needle? After all, only … Continue reading
Posted in European Travel, Travel Memoir
Tagged Alcazar, Benidorm, Cadiz, Costa del Sol, European travel, flamenco, Morocco, Seville, Spain, Spanish customs, Spanish travel, trichinosis, Water poisoning
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HOW I LEARNED TO HATE FLORENCE…
Before all you lovers of Italian culture build your own big bonfire and set me alight as a modern-day Savonarola, let me explain. No doubt Florence deserves its reputation as a must-see destination, particularly for travelers discovering the beauties of Italy for the first … Continue reading
Patrick W. O'Bryon 