Train Wreck of a Trip
Start with “EuroTrip 2002 Begins” Here. Looking back at the European trip 2002, I am amazed at just how many things went wrong and just how unbothered by all this we were. Being young and optimistic and most importantly not being too concerned with screwing up our itinerary played in […]
Eurotrip 2002 Begins: Breaking and Entering in Hamburg
When I met Victor in 2003, I proudly told him I was an experienced international traveler. After all, I’ve been on four trips out of the country! Victor, who at that point had only been on the plane once, from Belarus to the USA, was properly impressed. Straight out of […]
Gaudi’s Barcelona
We arrived in Barcelona early in the morning after a hellish overnight train ride that we still remember more than 10 years later. Bleary-eyed and groggy, our zombie-like entrance into the city was less than glorious. But that didn’t matter after all. We were in Barcelona. The city of Lionel […]
Walking on Not-Very-Thin Ice in Argentina
Start From The Beginning: Hiking in Argentina We arrived in El Calafate a bit beat up from two days of hiking in El Chalten. My blisters had blisters, all my hiking socks were dirty and torn, and my supposedly waterproof brand-new hiking shoes were very much soaked through. But none […]
Hiking Into the Sky, Patagonia, Argentina
Start with Part I of Argentina Travels to figure out who Ayala is and who we are. “First hike in El Chalten,” Victor said, “Is twenty-six kilometers. Next day, we’ll take it easy and do nineteen. The following day, we get to El Calafate and hike up a glacier.” “When […]
Free Wheeling Through Albania
As we planned our Albanian trip, the first question that popped up was “How will we get around?” Private transportation for two weeks was too expensive, and public transportation was too inconvenient for our overbooked itinerary. The only viable option was to rent a car. But I had my doubts. […]
