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 […]

Travels with My Mother: Uzbekistan Episode

During the pandemic, our favorite show on Netflix was Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father.  In this series (filmed in pre-COVID times), the British comedian Jack Whitehall travels the world with his elderly, curmudgeonly father, Michael, who detests travel and the exotic destinations Jack takes him to.  The show is […]

Monterrey, Mountains, and Unexpected Mexico

For those of you following along, I mentioned how our tickets to Monterrey had been canceled twice, and it was becoming increasingly unclear whether the universe really did not want us visiting this part of Mexico or whether Viva Aerobus was only pretending to offer flights there. Well, we finally […]

In the Saddle: Conquering Cerro de la Silla

Its image is everywhere — on labels of tostadas and tortillas, wall murals, and even in the logo of the local baseball team. It’s the symbol of the city. The most recognizable landmark.  It is as iconic as Rio de Janeiro’s Sugarloaf or Cape Town’s Table Mountain. Cerro de la […]

São Paulo: Hate At First Sight

“Skip São Paulo. It’s just a concrete jungle. Nothing to see there,” was the advice I received while planning a trip to Brazil. Nonsense. We are big city people. We love architecture, museums, and restaurants. Big cities have this never-ending energy and are always full of activities and things to […]

Слава Україні! Glory to Ukraine!

By Julia / March 12, 2022

On February 24, we planned to post about El Salvador and Victor’s surfing attempt at Las Flores beach.  Then, Russia invaded Ukraine, and blogging about travel became irrelevant. I was born in Ukraine, in the tiny village of Ponornytsya in Chernihiv Province, because the hospital of Korop, a slightly larger […]

Beyond the Flowers:  Hiking Ruta de las Flores

By Julia / February 16, 2022

If a foreign tourist does venture into El Salvador, he will inevitably come for one of two things – to surf or to visit Ruta de las Flores.  As Victor is diligently working on his “surviving surfing” post, I will, in the meantime, describe one of the most magical regions […]

Searching for Crashed Planes, Helicopters and Guerillas: A Very Unusual Christmas in El Salvador

By Victor / February 4, 2022

We spent the past holidays in El Salvador, and it turned out to be one of the strangest Christmases we’ve had during our travels.  No, it didn’t top our Christmas in India in 2014, when on Christmas Eve we nearly lost our camera, money, and Julia’s passport and ended up […]

El Salvador: The Beginning And The End

By Julia / January 27, 2022

For our very first story about our recent trip to El Salvador, I will start at the end and then, logically, will go backward. It was our last day in the country, and we had our backpacks ready with tourist trinkets, dirty clothes, and at least five bags of coffee […]

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 […]

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