Our last full day had us leaving Galway in the late morning and heading south to (eventually) drop the car off at the airport that evening. I mapped out a route that would let us see some...
Blog posts from Travel
Leandra’s 50th: daytrip to Inis Mór
On the morning of our trip to the Aran Isles we woke up to very gray weather. Unfortunately for us, it turned into rain as soon as we headed out to the ferry terminal so we got pretty soggy on the...
Leandra’s 50th: Galway food & drink
We didn’t have reservations for Monday night so we figured going out a bit earlier would be helpful. The lower level of The Dáil Bar was crowded but the upstairs had plenty of tables to choose from....
Leandra’s 50th: Galway sights
We spent three days in Galway and explored a little bit on each day. Many streets were closed to cars, and the main restaurant streets were packed with lots of people out walking around. One of our...
Leandra’s 50th: Keshcorran Caves & Castlerea
On the way south to Galway, we stopped at the Keshcorran Caves, parking in a decent sized lot down a very narrow lane close to the town of Keash. After a short but steep walk uphill we had great...
Leandra’s 50th: Sligo food & drink
After we got settled into our apartment, we headed out to Hargadon Bros for oysters as I knew they had 6 for 14€ on the menu. The place was full when we arrived but after I told the hostess, Amy,...
Leandra’s 50th: Sligo sites & experiences
We booked the Atlantic Sheepdogs demonstration a couple days out and we woke up to drizzle on Sunday morning that turned to full rain throughout the entire experience. Our host, Martin, was engaging...
Leandra’s 50th: Castlebar and Turlough
My inspiration for the my Guinness drinking tour of five counties was a photo taken in Castlebar 30 years ago, so we had to stop at this town! We found a spot in one of the lots but only one of the...
Leandra’s 50th: Connemara sites
High on my list of things to do on this trip was visiting Connemara National Park. I remember coming here in 1996, so it was nice to return and see the place in its full green glory (rather than in...
Leandra’s 50th: Clifden food & drink
Marconi Restaurant (Clifden) The staff couldn’t find our 7pm reservation when we arrived but that didn’t stop them from being very friendly and seating us in the Garden Room as expected. The rosé...
Leandra’s 50th: Clifden sites
On the way north to Clifden from the airport, we made a quick stop in Athenry (A-thin-RYE) to view the castle and church (now a heritage center featuring paid tours). One of the largest medieval...
Leandra’s 50th: overview, travel and where we stayed
We celebrated Eric's 50th birthday in northern Spain and I also wanted to enter into a new decade overseas. From the beginning we knew that most of Europe would be too hot and busy in August (and...
Long Island Summer 2026: overnight in Pennsylvania
To break up the drive back to NC we spent the night in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with friends from college. Per usual, they drove us around to a couple breweries and made reservations at a lovely...
Long Island Summer 2026: restaurants
On the Docks, Aquebogue Eric got the beef cheek and mashed potatoes with a local Paumanok rose and I got 6 oysters and the mussels appetizer with a California pinot noir. For dessert we each had a...
Long Island Summer 2026: wineries + breweries
Wineries Lenz Winery, Peconic Lenz is a long-standing part of our summer tradition. We are still members, and we always love spending summer afternoons relaxing in their shaded courtyard. June 28:...
Long Island Summer 2026: beaches + flowers
As we do every summer, we headed over to Bailie Beach several times for sunset. This year the jingle shells were incredibly abundant, to the point where we stopped looking for them. Osprey were also...
UK Summer Trip 2026: Cotswolds food and drink
Sunday On our way to Cirencester we stopped at the Pheasant Inn to break up the drive. A lovely gastropub with indoor and outdoor options, we chose to sit inside but near a large open door to catch...
UK Summer Trip 2026: Cotswolds sites
Malmesbury and Cirencester On Sunday, we drove from Heathrow to Cirencester, making a quick stop in Malmesbury along the way. Malmesbury Abbey was the primary sight here, and the stop gave us our...
Our Itinerary
2026 Trips
Parrish, FL (Jan)
Medellin, Colombia (Feb)
Wilmington, NC (Apr)
Madrid, Spain (May)
Asturias, Spain (May)
Galicia, Spain (June)
London/Cotswolds, UK (July)
Long Island, NY (July)
Western Ireland (Aug)
Vietnam (Nov)
Laos (Nov)
Cambodia (Dec)
Singapore (Dec)
2025 Trips
Tampa Bay, FL (Jan)
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Feb)
Villa la Angostura, Argentina (Feb)
Bariloche, Argentina (Feb)
Iguazu Falls (Feb)
Miami, FL (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Mar)
Boston, MA (Apr)
Kathmandu, Nepal (May)
Bhutan (May)
Doha, Qatar (May)
Bristol + London, UK (Jul)
Long Island, NY (Jul)
Slovenia (Sep)
Treviso, Italy (Sep)
Bologna, Italy (Sep)
day trips from Bologna (Oct)
Turin, Italy (Oct)
Greensboro, NC (Nov)