-
Portugal, Summer 2023 ~ Travel
Our trip to Portugal in June/July of 2023 was planned to coincide with our friends Scott and Diane move into their newly refurbished villa in Alcobaça, near Nazare on the Atlantic coast. They moved to Portugal for retirement, and it felt really neat to experience alongside them the joy of finally making it into their new home after a more than 8-month remodel and wait. I designed our trip to start in Lisbon, where we land, and then work our way north via Sintra’s fairytale castles, to Nazare’s Silver Coast, to Porto and the Douro River Valley to enjoy the lush countryside, and treat Michael to his favorite port wine.…
-
Nice, Spring 2022 ~ Travel
An early spring visit to Nice, located in the south of the Provence region in France. Our Airbnb looked out on the Mediterranean Sea and the famous Salyea courtyard with flower and vegetable markets. A short stroll down the embankment took us to famous waterfront hotels, and through beautiful squares to famous shopping districts of the newer Nice. Castle Hill separates the popular waterfront promenade from the old Port Lympia on eastern side of town. There is a very small and kind of rickety mid 20th century elevator that can take you up to the top of the hill, and a very pleasant switchback walk back down on the western…
-
Ireland, Spring 2022 ~ Travel
-
Dublin, Spring 2022 ~ Travel
Travel to Ireland in mid Spring and you might just enjoy all 4 seasons on the daily. Luckily, we managed to escape the rain with remarkable skill (maybe because we are from the Pacific NW and got a nose for it?) and enjoy an incredible amount of sunshine and warmth. We spent our first two days in Dublin, getting over jetlag, taking in all the culture, and sampling some pretty incredible cooking. Our Airbnb on Grafton Street overlooked Trinity College, walking distance to the famous Trinity College Library and the Book of Kells exhibit. On the opposite end of Grafton St, our very first tourist stop was Stephen’s Green. Dublin…
-
Venice, Summer 2021 ~ Travel
-
St. Petersburg, Fall 2019 ~ Travel
Oh my! How can I devote just one page to this beautiful city, where I was born, and where I return to religiously as much as I possibly can, after over two decades of living abroad? I went on this trip in September of 2019 all by myself, and it was quite indulgent. I saw many of my high school friends, visited my favorite places in the city, explored new areas, enjoyed/persevered through miles and miles of walking and traveling by public transit, and never felt more alive and satisfied. St. Petersburg is a maritime city, affected by the sea and the Neva River throughout its history, weather, culture, traditions…
-
Tuscany, Fall 2018 ~ Travel
Terracotta sunlight are the words that now come to mind when I think of warm-hued hills between the towns of Montepulciano, Montalcino, Pienza, San Quirico d’Orcia and Bagno Vignoni. We spent days bathing in the early fall sunlight, enjoying our homebase in the 12th century abbey, driving winding roads from wineries to olive groves to small towns perched on neighborhood hills. Historic downtowns revealed tall bell towers, thousand year old wine cellars, rustic gardens and lots of shops selling local linens, olive wood wares and WINE. We felt trapped in a fairy tale, and despite the long list of new places we still need to see, will probably return many,…
-
Florence, Fall 2018 ~ Travel
We traveled to Tuscany in September-October of 2018 to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. To be honest, we were both a little skeptical, as modern-day Italy seemed over-hyped and over-crowded. First, we spent four days in Florence, the art gallery of Italy. Ability to see world-renown treasures like David by Michelangelo, works of Rafael and collections of the Medici family, while traveling cobblestone streets to the riverbanks of the Arno river, and shops filled with Florentine paper, fragrant soaps, supple leather and beautiful ceramics made for days filled with wonder and beauty. Check out my Florence board on Pinterest!
-
Florence, Fall 2018 ~ Revel
My favorite ways to closely experience local culture is to get lucky enough (or to plan…) to partake in one of the local festivals, such as Carro Matto in Florence, or “crazy cart”. On the last Saturday in September, this buzy city is suddenly even more alive with the sound of drums, colors of medieval costumes, a cart full of over 2,000 round bottles of Chianti di Rufina, pulled by a pair of white oxen, and a fascinating flag throwing competition performed by Bandierai degli Uffizi. Watch the video below. It was windy, yet the flag throwers managed to keep their formations quite beautifully, and I don’t recall a single…
-
Prague, Summer 2016 ~ Travel
We decided long ago that our preference for travel would be very intentional, single-city focused trips that would allow us to soak up local color, culture and customs in at least 4-5 days. We don’t see ourselves taking week-long, city-hopping cruises or bus tours only giving you a glimpse of each location and a surface skim of its points of interest. So, Prague became our first “focused” European trip, and it proved to be the perfect recipe. Even years later, I still have vivid memories of its streets, flavors, secret passages, ornate décor and fascinating history. Prague welcomed us with its highly decorated buildings, simple but delicious Eastern European cuisine,…
