A Long-Overdue Affair: The Wisconsin State Fair

Last year, it finally happened. I went to the Wisconsin State Fair! Although I had lived in the state for over a decade, for whatever reason, I’d never made it to the festival grounds in West Allis until last year. Ironically, it took me to move out of Wisconsin to […]

Chicago: Keeping the Blues Alive

Today is a special day in Chicago: Buddy Guy celebrates his 90th birthday.  Although we are currently busy writing posts about Uzbekistan, this milestone-and America’s 250th year-makes it the perfect moment to celebrate one of the country’s greatest musical traditions: the blues. At his birthday bashes, Buddy Guy usually tells […]

Uzbekistan: One Conversation at a Time

We were in Margilan, a medium-sized town in the Fergana Valley, on a quick day trip when we stopped at the street market for lunch. We found a tiny café serving hot tea and potato samsas, sat down, and ordered a pot of tea with three samsas to share. As […]

Monterrey, Mexico: World Cup Edition

Back in February, we climbed Cerro de la Silla and marveled at the striking Estadio BBVA from above. There, on the hiking trail, I had an interesting thought: “How cool would it be to see this mountain from the stadium seats during the world’s biggest sporting event?” Later that evening, […]

2026 FIFA World Cup: Hogwarts vs. Narnia

Those who follow this blog know I am a big soccer fan and try to attend games in every country I visit.  This fact is even listed in my section of “About Us” on this website.  So, it won’t surprise anyone that attending the World Cup this summer was on […]

Small Towns, Big Problems

By Victor / September 28, 2023

Even before the pandemic, Europe had been seriously suffering from over-tourism, with masses of tourists visiting the most popular destinations at rates not seen before.  The pandemic didn’t ease the situation, and to some extent, even exacerbated the problem, causing people who’d skipped travel in the last 2-3 years to […]

The Unexpected India

By Victor / September 14, 2023

India was our best trip and our worst trip.  Nine years later, I’m still shocked that, while still being relatively new international travelers, we had enough courage to pick India as our second Asian country to visit. We wrote extensively about 16 unforgettable days in India that included, among other […]

Six Wonders of the World: Part II

By Julia / August 30, 2023

Start with Part I here for the Colosseum, Chichen Itza, and Taj Mahal. 4.  Christ the Redeemer By the time we visited Brazil in 2015, Christ the Redeemer was firmly established as one of the New Wonders of the World, and the tourists were certainly aware of it.  From our […]

Six Wonders of the World: Part I

By Julia / August 17, 2023

We were on a mountain in Peru, looking down at a gorgeous green valley, peppered with ancient stone constructions. “I can’t believe we are finally at Machu Picchu!” Victor said, “Congratulations!  You have now visited all “New Seven Wonders of the World”!” “I have?” I asked, unsure. “Well, let’s see.  […]

First Visit to the Land of Enchantment

By Victor / August 10, 2023

“Did you see what the license plate on our car rental says?” I asked Julia as we were pulling out of the Albuquerque airport parking lot. “What?” “Land of Enchantment.” “Well… that’s promising…” Julia said, but I could tell that she wasn’t sold yet. For many, New Mexico is the […]

More Hiking Mistakes: Banff and Jasper National Parks

By Julia / August 3, 2023

Our previous hiking post about the Gap of Dunloe ended up being a list of mistakes we made while planning and executing the four-hour hike over some of Ireland’s most beautiful lands.  Now that we got back from hiking in Banff and Jasper National Parks, I am tempted to repeat […]

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