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...
Blog posts from International Travel
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...
UK Summer Trip 2026: London food and drink
Thursday While we were waiting for our rooms to get ready, we walked over to the Kensington Terrace Cafe for a leisurely breakfast. I got the avocado toast and a flat white, Dad got pancakes and...
UK Summer Trip 2026: London sites
On the morning of our arrival we needed to get outside and walk, so we headed to Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. At the Serpentine Gallery we saw Jesús Rafael Soto's Pénétrable BBL Jaune, a cool...
UK Summer Trip 2026: Wimbledon
2026 Wimbledon was fairly similar to my 2025 experience, since we spent most of our time watching the matches on Centre Court. This year, my dad and I arrived around 10:15am and were through...
UK Summer Trip 2026: overview + where we stayed
In 2025, we finally realized our goal of seeing Wimbledon in person. My dad loves tennis, so for 2026, Leandra set up an account for my parents and watched the secondary market for tickets. After...
Eric’s 50th: Santiago de Compostela sites
The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is the center of town and the focus of hundreds of pilgrims each day. Since we stayed so close by, we visited the massive plaza in front of the cathedral...
Eric’s 50th: Santiago de Compostela food and drink
After dropping our bags at our apartment, our next stop was for helado from Boco de Xeado. Eric got a scoop each of coconut and intense chocolate, while I opted for a (solo!) pistachio cone. All...
Eric’s 50th: O Grove and the Rías Baixas wine region
O Grove Peninsula On our one full weekend day in the area we drove to the O Grove peninsula, checking out some coastal villages along the way. The first stop was Combarro, a town about 20 minutes...
Eric’s 50th: Pontevedra sites
On the drive from Santiago de Compostela to Pontevedra, we took the non-toll scenic route south. Halfway we stopped for Fervenza de Segade, a waterfall, where I stayed with the car while Eric hiked...
Eric’s 50th: Pontevedra food and drink
Due to a work conflict, we had to cancel our Bib Gourmand lunch reservation in A Coruña, so I was looking forward to trying our luck in Pontevedra with Trasmallo. We sat upstairs with a few other...
Eric’s 50th: A Coruña, molecular gastronomy cooking class
If you’ve been around this blog for a while then you know that I love to take cooking classes in foreign countries. I made good on this in A Coruña with a molecular gastronomy course! This workshop...
Eric’s 50th: A Coruña sites
A Coruña is a beautiful port city, known for the "oldest known extant Roman lighthouse" (the Tower of Hercules), plus a long coastal promenade (13km!), beautiful beaches, and fresh seafood. All of...
Eric’s 50th: A Coruña food and drink
There are a lot of restaurants and bars in A Coruña, so even with a week we barely scratched the surface. Here is what we tried. We had been eating a lot of Asturian food, so we decided on an...
Eric’s 50th: Galicia, where we stayed
NORO Plaza, A Coruña Our apartment here was a comfortable 1-bedroom with tons of space, which felt especially roomy after our tight spot in Gijón. The apartment had lots of windows, and each one...
Eric’s 50th: Northern Spain coastal sites
East from Gijón Mirador de San Roque On our way to Potes and the eastern side of Picos de Europa national park we traveled along the coast, stopping at a few spots on our way. Our first stop was an...
Eric’s 50th: Gijón sites
Located just outside of the city, the Jardín Botánico Atlántico was larger than we expected. From multiple points around the grounds you could see the massive Cultural Center building across the...
Eric’s 50th: Gijón food and drink
Our first taste of Asturias was at a traditional cider house, Sidrería El Tasqueru, about 15 minutes from Gijón. The server didn’t speak English and there was some confusion about ordering at the...
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)
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)