Arriving in Tblilisi from the north of Georgia, with two of our friends departing that evening, we made the most of the time we had left together and walked along charming cobblestone streets toward the Kura River, toward the Bridge of Peace. A bow-shaped pedestrian bridge made of steel and glass that links the Old City to Rike Park, it’s an easy landmark to spot… Continue reading
All things French Quebec City was everything we hoped for with a few surprises. Here’s our seven-day itinerary for visiting at ‘the most wonderful time of the year’! Continue reading
[This post is part of a 10-day driving itinerary for Sofia, Melnik, Plovdiv, and Veliko Taranovo.] Days 1-3 | Sofia Days 4-5 | Melnik Days 6-7 | Plovdiv DAY 8 | THRACIAN TOMB & SHIPKA PASS TO VELIKO TARNOVO More Bulgarian history lessons today along mountainous roads, traveling northeast to Kazanlak, the center of the … Continue reading
[This post is part of a 10-day driving itinerary for Sofia, Melnik, Plovdiv, and Veliko Taranovo.] Days 1-3 | Sofia Days 4-5 | Melnik DAY 6 | THE NARROW GAUGE TRAIN TO PLOVDIV En route to Plovdiv, you’ll have the chance to see the beauty of the southwestern mountainous region of Bulgaria, traveling at first … Continue reading
[This post is part of a 10-day driving itinerary for Sofia, Melnik, Plovdiv, and Veliko Taranovo.] DAYS 1-3 | SOFIA DAY 4 | RILA MONASTERY TO MELNIK A must-see on the way to Melnik is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria, founded in the early 10th century, by St. Ivan. Rila … Continue reading
[This post is part one of a 10-day driving itinerary that includes Sofia, Melnik, Plovdiv, and Veliko Taranovo, which each have their own post.] I’d never visited Bulgaria, which is usually reason enough for me to go somewhere. Before meeting my Global Builders Team in Cluj, Romania in mid-April, I decided to give myself ten … Continue reading
For the second time, I lead a team to the fabulous city of Cluj, to partner with The Fuller Center Cluj to help build affordable housing the in bucolic Jucu-de-Sus. My first trip to Romania, and first build with the Fuller Center there, was in 2023. I loved it so much, I decided to return … Continue reading
DAY 1 | Over the hills and through the woods to BREB VILLAGE we go! For our 4-day tour we hired a wonderful local guide, who is from Maramureș, who expertly planned the trip with us, drove, and guided us. Heading north from Cluj into the mountains we stopped at Casa Dobro for a coffee … Continue reading
continued from CROATIA | 4 Friends in Rovinj & Beyond DAY 10 | Škocjan Caves, Slovenia We left Rovinj, Croatia crossing the border to Slovenia to visit the otherworldly Škocjan Caves. Both Croatia and Slovenia are part of the Schengen Area making driving between them easy. Countries that make up the Schengen Area have officially … Continue reading
…continued from CROATIA | 4 Friends in Istria & Beyond Day 7 | From Pula to Rovinj After a quick lunch, we loaded into the car again for a less-than-an-hour drive to perhaps Istria’s most beautiful town, Rovinj, Croatia’s “Little Venice.” Happily, we spent three nights here and could have stayed longer. There is 24-hour … Continue reading
Global Staci 