Back to Asia: Discovering Taiwan

The last time we were in Southeast Asia was in 2019, which now seems like a lifetime ago. Our first trip to that region was Thailand in 2013, followed by India in 2014, Japan in 2016, China in 2017, Cambodia in 2018, and finally Vietnam in 2019.  On our first […]

France Flashback: Châteaux of the Loire Valley

If you’ve ever skimmed our blog, you already know our usual pattern: go to a country, spend two weeks there, enjoy the hell out of it, swear we’ll return, and then never set foot there again. It happens every single time, no matter how earnestly we insist that this time […]

A Year in the Windy City: Unique Things to Do in Chicago

With 2026 underway, we’re excited for all our upcoming trips this year. But globetrotting aside, our own city of Chicago offers enough adventures to fill a whole calendar.  We love being tourists in our own backyard, exploring it even after decades of living there. And because we are always obsessed […]

The U.S. Virgin Islands: Unlikely, but Possible

After getting back from the U.S. Virgin Islands, we calculated our total expenses for two people for six days, one week before high season, and it came out to $1,875 for everything, including flights, accommodations, a rental car, food, and all entrance fees. Nowadays, whenever you don’t know how to […]

The U.S. Virgin Islands: America, But Not Quite the America You Know

“So, did we travel internationally or not?” We asked ourselves this question recently after returning from the U.S. Virgin Islands. Before the trip, we felt we weren’t traveling outside of the United States. The USVI is not a country. It’s a territory and part of the United States. The “U.S.” […]

Mind The Gap: The Gap of Dunloe

By Julia / September 29, 2022

After so many years of traveling, I know how to spot a problem in the itinerary. “Let’s talk about the Gap of Dunloe hike,” I said to Victor. “We have three hours to hike 11 kilometers through a mountain pass?  Exactly three hours or we miss the boat that takes […]

Pub-Hopping, Pub-Crawling, Pub-Learning: The Truly Irish Experience

By Victor / September 24, 2022

Although we repeat that we rarely drink, we finished almost every day of our recent trip to Ireland in a pub.  We drank in pubs, we danced in pubs, and once we even slept above a pub. Our travel philosophy of adapting to the customs of the place we visit-and […]

All Aboard the Coffin Ship!

By Julia / September 14, 2022

We stood in the queue at the Embarkation area, clutching our boarding passes.  Through the windows, we could see Dunbrody, a three-masted sailing vessel, moored at the quayside, its wooden sides gleaming in the sun.  A woman, dressed in a dark shawl and clutching a large bag, rushed past us, […]

In The Skies Above Medellin

By Julia / August 18, 2022

On our final full day in Medellín, we met the car and the driver at the trendy El Poblado neighborhood, as scheduled.  We got there early enough to eat breakfast and for Victor to buy a few bags of coffee beans at Pergamino Coffee Shop.  As we climbed into the […]

Un Poquito De Español

By Victor / August 11, 2022

Start with Part I: Why I Decided To Learn Spanish. While in Guatemala, we came across numerous schools where visitors can stay with a local family and take Spanish classes for 4-5 hours a day. These immersion programs are popular with foreigners, allowing people to learn or improve their Spanish. […]

No Hablo Español

By Victor / August 4, 2022

When I was 22 years old, I made an unusual promise to myself. I decided that by the time I turned 40, I would speak Spanish.  I don’t know why I made this promise. At that time, Spanish was irrelevant in my life. I had no exposure to the language […]

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