Travel Blog

A house went floating up river a few minutes ago.

I was standing in the kitchen when I saw, through the palm fronds that feather duster our balcony, a modern house where there had been none before. I walked outside to take a look. I have been reading Oliver Sacks' The Mind's Eye and been very attuned recently to optical tricks.

The house, I could see clearly now, was moving, heading toward downtown. It was of a modern design that would have caught my eye had it been stationary, on land; the fact that it was floating on the river made me halt in the middle of breakfast.

I ruled out the possibility that it was a creatively-designed yacht. We see a lot of yachts, some so big they barely make it up the river, but they have a pretty standard design. This thing was tallest at the front (the bow), two tall stories consisting of glass. The roof titled downwards toward the back (the stern), the glass giving way twice to two towers the size of wide chimneys. These had the color of mahogany.

Some men stood on the platform, but I was too far away to ask them any questions. I had to content myself with the fact that I had seen something new.