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 […]

Part II: Buenos Aires – Through the Eyes of Locals

By Victor / April 9, 2020

Read “Part I: Buenos Aires – Travel Like a Local, Travel with a Local” Buenos Aires met us with blooming jacaranda trees, their beautiful violet flowers carpeting sidewalks and lawns.  It was a warm spring morning, as is traditional in the southern hemisphere in November, as we started exploring this […]

Part I: Buenos Aires – Travel Like a Local, Travel with a Local

By Victor / April 2, 2020

In January 2012, right after returning from our two-week trip to Egypt, Julia and I sat down to discuss our travel plans for the upcoming year. I was only days away from starting a new job at a large law firm and was understandably nervous about taking any time off […]

Eating Our Way Through Vietnam

By Julia / March 27, 2020

Asia has the best food.  Period.  No arguments.  Every time I state this unequivocal fact, Victor tries to mumble something about Mexican food, then realizes that I am willing to physically fight him over this and quickly changes his tune.  And so, Victor and I agree – Asia does have […]

Clothes Make the Man, Vietnamese Tailors Make the Clothes

By Victor / March 19, 2020

“Twenty-seven and a half!” the woman called out and quickly slid the measuring tape down my body. “Right shoulder higher than left shoulder!” I started twisting to look at my unequal shoulders in the mirror, but she quickly forced my body back, while methodically calling out numbers and body parts. […]

Murder on the Dragon Pearl

By Julia / March 12, 2020

Part II of Adventures on the Anti-Love Boat in Halong Bay Our first lunch on the boat was served on the lower deck, on dark red tables covered by crispy white linens.  Victor and I picked the table closest to the railing, so we could enjoy the unobstructed view of […]

Out of Our Comfort Zone – Backpackers on a Luxury Cruise

By Julia / March 5, 2020

Part I of Adventures in Halong Bay Through the years of traveling, we have slept in cars, vans, buses, trains, airplanes, a garden shed, a hut, bungalows, a remodeled horse barn, hostels, motels, guesthouses, strangers’ houses, hotels, and once on a lawn in a park (well, that was a nap […]

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