Last week, two-time Olympic gold medalist Shannon Szabados made history by becoming the first woman to play for the Southern Professional Hockey League. Szabados, who helped the Canadians win at both the Vancouver and Sochi winter Olympics, signed as a goalie with the Columbus (Ga.) Cottonmouths. [Read more…] about Shannon Szabados for The New York Times
Moscow to Atlanta
Moscow.
Some people hate sitting in airplane window seats. I absolutely love them. For starters, I can lean my head against the wall (instead of a stranger’s shoulder) for a nap. And where else can you get aerial photographs as an added bonus for a trip? [Read more…] about Moscow to Atlanta
Dagomys Tea Plantataion
Vladimir Voronen, tea grower at Dagomy’s tea plantation near Sochi.
My assignments here in Sochi have been vastly different than I ever anticipated. I never thought I would be covering dog shelters, or a gay bar in Sochi. And I never thought I would end up at a place like Dagomys tea plantation, on the side of a mountain near Sochi. This place was spectacular, simply beautiful. It was so far away, so removed from the concrete, mud, and hustle of Olympic Park. [Read more…] about Dagomys Tea Plantataion
Fantastical Sochi
Russia is fantasically beautiful to me. Yes, it’s a bit strange, but I like strange (and, to me, if you’re not a little weird, there’s probably something wrong with you). The crazy signs, double toilets, food choices (meat salad has consistently been a buffet offering in my hotel complex, though I haven’t tried it so I can’t report on it), and Riviera Park. It’s all a photographer’s dream. [Read more…] about Fantastical Sochi
The Dogs of Sochi
Being a dog lover in Sochi can be painful. It hurts to see many beautiful animals just wandering the streets of this town, sometime still muddy and wet from last night’s rain, looking for the next meal. And it hurts to know that many of these dogs are being put down systematically by a company hired by the local government. This plan has definitely worked … I now see a fraction of the dogs that I did when I first arrived on Jan. 13. [Read more…] about The Dogs of Sochi