Eerie drive, stifling sands
Chiara Mapelli Chiara Mapelli

Eerie drive, stifling sands

The sun-reflecting white beaches made the Gulfport Terminal stand—perhaps even float—dark and ominous in the distance, like a threatening crow among a flight of doves.

Read More
Los Angeles: wanders at dawn
Chiara Mapelli Chiara Mapelli

Los Angeles: wanders at dawn

I let Lana’s voice guide me on my aimless walk around grids of chain stores, Asian restaurants, and then again more chain stores and palm trees, art galleries, sleepy blocks of flats, boarded-up shops.

Read More
Lifting the Berlin fog
Chiara Mapelli Chiara Mapelli

Lifting the Berlin fog

And to winter in Berlin, and to the thick white fog, I return. Because how fitting is a heavy layer of fog when it comes to exploring and walking around a city?

Read More
Reflections on Palestine from the Italian consulate
Chiara Mapelli Chiara Mapelli

Reflections on Palestine from the Italian consulate

To this day I am not certain as to why we were taken to Gaza Camp. The group and I played with the local schoolchildren, sometimes barefoot, sometimes only wearing socks. I forgot most of what I was told during the visit, about the camp and its population, all I know is that some of the scenes I saw still haunt me to this day.

Read More
Sweet black tea, pitch black darkness
Chiara Mapelli Chiara Mapelli

Sweet black tea, pitch black darkness

I should have known better than to sit down for that last cup of tea with the Bedouins. You see, even in Petra’s seemingly endless June sunshine, the sun eventually sets.

Read More
Cripple Creek, Colorado is not what you think it is
Chiara Mapelli Chiara Mapelli

Cripple Creek, Colorado is not what you think it is

As I wandered around, I didn't feel any closer to that richness. Instead, there was an eerie sensation that something was out of place, and I felt sure that I wouldn’t find any gold in the town’s grid streets.

Read More
Tralee: between Roses and community
Chiara Mapelli Chiara Mapelli

Tralee: between Roses and community

On the stage, an Ed Sheeran impersonator is singing rather depressing lyrics very loudly and out of tune. It all seems so chaotic and random; I wouldn’t be surprised if the crowd started throwing glitter bombs at each other and snatched the stilts off the performers walking along the parade.

Read More
Atlanta: emptiness, peaches, and a reimagined nightmare
Chiara Mapelli Chiara Mapelli

Atlanta: emptiness, peaches, and a reimagined nightmare

The main intrusive thought finding its way to my brain was my dad’s voice telling me not to use my left foot in any way, shape, or form. Ever. “Why?” I kept asking myself, trying to delay the moment when my right foot would finally push down to make the car move forward. “I guess I’ll just have to trust him on this,” I reasoned, before slowly but surely leaving the rental car parking lot on my way out of Atlanta.

Read More
Up and down San Francisco
Chiara Mapelli Chiara Mapelli

Up and down San Francisco

In the minds of many, California is often seen as the ultimate destination, with its iconic palm trees, golden sunsets, and endless beaches. Add to that the vast deserts, towering mountains, and, of course, the ever-present sunshine. Long before I ever set foot in sunny San Francisco, California already felt strangely familiar to me, as if the images I had watched on TV for years had painted a vivid picture.

Read More
 Faro to Lisbon: December of not-doing
Chiara Mapelli Chiara Mapelli

Faro to Lisbon: December of not-doing

Why wasn’t I longing for the blue skies of Lisbon? Was I doing ‘post-Portugal’ wrong? I found myself frustrated, trying to evoke a feeling of longing that just wasn’t coming.

Read More

My musings are just that, musings.
My posting schedule can be erratic.