After a failed attempt to visit Laos with a friend eight years ago, thankfully, I got a second chance. Luang Prabang had been on my travel wish list ever since. My first stop on a five-and-a-half-week trip, this delightful little town on the Mekong was the perfect place to begin to adjust to a new … Continue reading
First there was the book, then the movie. Eat, Pray, Love. Thanks Hollywood: now nearly everyone has fantasized about falling in love in Bali. But how many of them have heard of Yogyakarta, pronounced, JOGE-Ja-karta? Very few I bet. Let’s change that. Continue reading
Porto was the first stop on my first visit to Portugal in 2015. I’m happy to report that almost nothing has changed, it is as perfect and pretty as ever. This is how I spent three days with my friends. Continue reading
My nine-day journey throughout Slovakia begins in its capital. Bratislava is quite beautiful, especially the old squares and their landmarks. Once the Hungarian coronation city on the Danube, with its castles and palaces and summer resorts of Austrian nobility, the city retains its charms, even it never was grand. Continue reading
The first time I visited Sibiu I was only there for a few hours and knew I one day I’d return. This time, on my way to Cluj to meet my Global Builders Team to volunteer with The Fuller Center for Housing Romania, I opted to fly directly to Sibiu and spend three nights in The City with Eyes, so named for all the eyebrow dormers on the roofs of the buildings. Continue reading
The Republic of Georgia has been enjoying its time in the travel media limelight. It seems every travel blog I read waxed poetic about the tiny country with a familiar name. Perhaps because of its generous digital nomad visa, allowing expats to stay a full year, or because of the great food and the easy-on-your-wallet prices, travelers are flocking to the country firmly anchored by the Caucasus Mountains, straddling the intersection of Europe and Asia. 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 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
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
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