We spent six days around park, moving every two days from east to north to west. Our plan was to do one big hike per day in the park. Brez to Canal de las Arranedos The morning started overcast with...
Blog posts from International Travel
Eric’s 50th: Picos de Europa food and drink
Potes La Soldrería doesn’t take reservations, so we decided to go on the early side to see if we could snag a table. The regular tables were all full at 8:30pm but luckily there were two seats at...
Eric’s 50th: Picos de Europa, where we stayed
We wanted to be close to certain hikes and sites and ultimately chose three different towns around the park. If we had to do it again I would have skipped Las Arenas and added an extra night in...
Eric’s 50th: Madrid sites
Our only full day in Madrid was spent visiting free museums and getting our steps in! Our first stop was Museo Geominero, where one of us had to show our passport to enter. This museum was...
Eric’s 50th: Madrid food and drink
On our first evening in Madrid, we took a leisurely walk up Ponzano Street to check out the tapas spots the area is known for. Our first stop, Bokaxankla Bar, had a young vibe. Lots of tables were...
Eric’s 50th: Madrid, where we stayed
Madrid: Hyatt Regency Hesperia Madrid We had a nice quiet room at the end of the hallway that faced an inner courtyard, which was perfect for sleeping. The bathroom was a good size, but the frosted...
Eric’s 50th: flights, trains, and rental cars
RDU > LHR > MAD Our flight out of Raleigh was on time and Eric managed to snag us main cabin extra seats in the bulkhead area so we had two seats to ourselves. Neither of us slept that well...
Eric’s 50th: overview and planning
When thinking about where I wanted to spend my 50th birthday I knew I wanted good food, moderate weather, and somewhere at least a little new to us. Northern Spain really fit those criteria: we...
Colombia: Medellin sites
We don't normally sign up for tours on our travels, but some of the places we wanted to see weren't great areas for tourists to explore on their own, so we made an exception on this trip. Medellín:...
Colombia: Medellin food & drink
Poblado Restaurante Malevo - Our Comuna 13 tour started and ended at the Poblado metro station, so we decided to stay in this neighborhood for dinner. Empanadas sounded good, so we grabbed a table...
Colombia: Medellin, intro and where we stayed
We like to go somewhere warmer in early February, so when we saw inexpensive airfares to Colombia we jumped on the opportunity. From North Carolina it took roughly as long as reaching the US West...
2025 Year in Review
Previous years-in-review – 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009 In 2025 our international travel took us back to South America and Asia for...
Euro Trip 2025: Turin Luci d’Artista light festival
When researching Turin I came across the Luci d'Artista, a light festival that spans autumn into winter. We lucked out that the very first day for the lights was our last evening in Turin! We didn't...
Euro Trip 2025: Turin sights
Turin is a large city, and even with most of a week we still only saw a few neighborhoods around the center. Sunday We arrived at the Porta Susa train station in the early afternoon - it was a long...
Euro Trip 2025: Turin food & drink
With a full week in the city we were able to try a decent number of spots around town. Sunday Da Frasca - We were glad we had a reservation, as it is small and they did turn people away. I ordered...
Euro Trip 2025: daytrip to Venaria Palace
The Venaria Palace is a former royal hunting residence and gardens located on the outskirts of the city. The most efficient transport seemed to be the an express bus from Castello; unfortunately for...
Euro Trip 2025: Turin’s Piazza della Repubblica markets
The Turin Piazza della Repubblica is a large square that was right around the corner from our apartment. Bisected by trams, it is a bustling spot. At night it is a large parking lot, and each...
Euro Trip 2025: Torino+Piemonte Card
Turin is a beautiful city but almost everything has an entry fee, and several of the main attractions are expensive. Like many cities they offer a card that gets you into multiple sites. The 24-hour...
Our Itinerary
2026 Trips
Parrish, FL (Jan)
Medellin, Colombia (Feb)
Wilmington, NC (Apr)
Madrid, Spain (May)
Asturias, Spain (May)
Galicia, Spain (June)
London, UK (July)
Costswolds, UK (July)
Long Island, NY (July)
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)