The Ghost Town That Wasn’t

We were in San Miguel de Allende, enjoying all the classic traits of a pretty Mexican town  – a gorgeous church dominating the skyline on the main plaza, colonial architecture with carved wooden doors and wrought-iron balconies, winding cobblestone streets, and quaint local markets where indigenous women sold traditional crafts. […]

From Tulum Trauma to San Miguel Magic

Our flight to Monterrey got cancelled again.  The first time, a year ago, we rebooked it for Mexico City, but this time airfare to León was cheap enough to make us consider going there… again. We had already taken the same flight a few years earlier and spent three wonderful […]

Mexican Chicago

Back in 2003, when I’d just arrived in Chicago, my first apartment was in Hermosa on the city’s northwest side. One evening, when I was in the back porch relaxing after a day of work, the street was suddenly filled with the sound of the revving engines. Motorcycles and cars […]

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 […]

Chasing the Light in France

By Victor / January 20, 2022

In the summer of 2009, we went to France to “chase the light”.  When I initially announced plans for the trip, Julia gave me a confused look and asked me to elaborate. I explained that we would start in Paris, visiting as many art museums as possible, and then venture […]

Northern Albania – Mountains, Ferry, and Blood Feuds

By Julia / January 13, 2022

We weren’t planning on heading north in Albania. It’s a completely mountainous region, with narrow and steep roads, wholly unsuitable for inexperienced travelers such as Victor’s mom. And we have explored so many other mountain ranges in the past – the Rocky Mountains, Smoky Mountains, Swiss Alps, Andes – that […]

Albania Highlights

By Victor & Julia / January 9, 2022

One small change on this map – Google doesn’t do ferry routes, so the distance between Koman and Fierze is incorrect.  We took a ferry down Koman Lake and then Drin River, not SH5 and SH22 roads. Places Visited Tirana Kruja Lezhe Cape of Rodonit Shkoder Koman Fierze Valbona Bajram […]

Chicken Bus, 25 Tortillas, and Lava Rocks of Guatemala

By Victor / December 14, 2021

“Chicken bus! Chicken bus! Please, stooooppp!!!” I am running along a dusty street in Jocotenango, chasing a brightly decorated, refurbished US school bus. In my right hand, I have a plastic bag with 25 freshly made corn tortillas. My left hand is desperately flailing in the air, trying to get […]

Valladolid: Exploring Yucatan’s Pueblo Mágico

By Victor / December 2, 2021

We spent the night before visiting Chichen Itza in Valladolid.  For years, this colonial town had been overlooked by visitors and served primarily as a lunch stop for people traveling to or from Chichen Itza.  Recently, Valladolid finally started to get tourist love as more travelers began including it on […]

Accidental Fare Dodgers in Hungary

By Julia / November 18, 2021

Part I of EuroTrip 2002 Here Part II of EuroTrip 2002 Here In Munich, we met up with Andrey and George, and later with Max’s long-distance girlfriend. We went from a cozy group of 3 people, 2 of whom unconditionally followed me everywhere, to a group of six highly disorganized […]

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