Of all the wonderful sights on the Rick Steves’ Paris & the Heart of France tour, none captured my heart like the Renaissance castle of Chenonceau. Full of royal intrigue, World War II history & maintained with such care, I could have easily spent all day exploring the grounds… hopefully this post inspires you to visit as well.
Read More »france: château de chenonceau
Over New Year’s I tweeted “If you haven’t been to Setúbal, then get here asap” & I meant it! For some reason, the city had been off my radar but what a beautiful discovery. Here’s a bit of why we fell in love with Setúbal… & not just for choco frito 😉
Read More »portugal: setúbal
Here we go again! As always, I write this for personal reasons but feel free to revisit 2023 with me. I survived one of the craziest work schedules I’ve had in years, full of beaucoup travel & very little time at home. On the flip side, I experienced a ton of new things, revisited some favorite spots & met great people in some of the best tour groups ever. Let’s review…
Read More »year in review: 2023
Sandwiched between our time in DC, Rafa & I spent five nights in Maryland. My bestie’s parents —Suzanne & Jim— invited us last year, but we changed plans & went to Boston after finding insanely cheap airfare. Now that DC was our main destination again, getting to Annapolis was super easy; a whole new state for us to explore. Hello, Maryland!
Read More »usa: annapolis
After traveling around the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest, the South & Boston with Rafa, this year seemed perfect for us to experience the national capitol together. My first & only visit was 19 years ago in 2004, & I mostly stuck to monuments & walking the city. I knew Rafa would put together a busy schedule, heavy with fantastic, free museums… we took advantage of our time in DC.
Read More »usa: washington, dc
After an evening in Avilés, Rafa & I made our way to the largest metropolitan area in Asturias. We hit Carnaval festivities, but I was interested in exploring the city more than the party. With less than two full days in Gijón, we’d have our work cut out for us…
Read More »spain: gijón