Go For Gözleme
The previous post about fish, bread, and never giving up on food dreams reminded me of something that happened two years ago, during a road trip from Izmir to Antalya in Türkiye. We left our Airbnb early in the morning, eager to start a long day of sightseeing, and skipped […]
Searching for Fish and Bread in Istanbul
Two years ago, when we did a road trip through southwest Türkiye, I kept looking for balık ekmek. If you don’t know what that is, don’t worry. Neither did I. But Victor kept mentioning how he and his parents enjoyed a delicious balık ekmek in a restaurant by the Bosphorus […]
Our Travel Wishlist: Yemen
This will be a different kind of post. Normally, we describe places we’ve been to, but today we want to tell you about a country we want to visit. Recently, the area where we live saw a boom of Yemeni coffeehouses popping up here and there. These spacious, lavishly decorated […]
Against All Advice: Finding The Perfect Beach Near Istanbul
Planning a trip for just the two of us is now easy, as we know what we like and what kinds of trips bring us joy. But earlier this year, planning a family reunion trip to Istanbul with Victor’s father, brother, sister-in-law, and niece was a whole different story. Victor’s […]
Is Istanbul Now More Expensive Than Dubai for Tourists?
In August, we spent a week in Istanbul meeting with my family, and the city once again left us speechless. But this time, it was not for the reason you might expect. I could write about incredible sites or delicious food (of which Istanbul has plenty), but, as a travel […]
Summer in Norway
What does summer look like in one of the northernmost countries on Earth? That is the question I should have asked myself when packing for our trip. But I didn’t. “It’s summer after all!” I thought, shoving shorts and T-shirts into my backpack. I wasn’t even planning on bringing my […]
No Way! Norway!
It feels like every time I start a post about a new country, there is the same theme. “Look, we are doing something we’ve never done before! We usually don’t travel like this, but we made an exception this time!” A long time ago, we started out as budget travelers […]
How I Sent My Parents To The Concentration Camp
Because my parents still live in Belarus and I live in the States, I like inviting them to join our trips from time to time. This way, we can kill two birds with one stone: enjoy some quality family time and explore a new destination together. Over the years, we’ve […]
San Diego. Finally.
After twenty years of traveling, we have been to over forty countries, almost every U.S. state, most national parks, and basically every major U.S. city. But there are still places out there to explore. “We have still, somehow, not been to San Diego,” Victor said. I vaguely remembered how. We […]
King’s Day in Amsterdam
Earlier this year, we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago and saw the city turn into one big green, drunken mass. Despite having lived in Chicago for over 20 years, we rarely participate in St. Patrick’s Day festivities and normally avoid the downtown area during that weekend altogether. So, when […]
Tulip Paradise
As we started to descend toward Schiphol Airport, I was peeking through the plane window and couldn’t contain my excitement: “Look! Tulips!” I shouted. Colorful strips of tulip fields started to appear out of nowhere and stretched to the horizon. On the train ride from the airport, we passed more […]