Santiago We booked an airport transfer through Vem Me Buscar the day before we left. The airport pickup was fine - driver was a bit late but timely response through WhatsApp. We did receive a handy...
Blog posts from Travel
Patagonia: where we stayed
Hotel Indigo Atlanta Airport A reasonable hotel for an overnight layover with pickup from the airport approximately every 30 mins. That same shuttle can also take you within a 2-mile trip in the...
Patagonia: overview and flights
On our 2012 trip to Chile we were told multiple times that we had to see Patagonia, and that November was a good time that balanced decent weather and crowds. In the intervening years we'd almost...
2019 Travel Overview
Previous years-in-review – 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009 Some of our travel stats for the year: 7 countries visited (on 5 continents!): new countries this year included...
Oregon Wine Tasting, Dec 2019
Since we are members of two wine clubs in the Willamette Valley, we wanted to get out to there to do some tasting of the wines that had been released and get a feel for what would be released soon....
Memory Monday: TWA Hotel @ JFK’s Terminal 5
When we landed in the US after a 14 hour flight from Seoul, we had been awake for 18+ hours, and had another 8 hours to endure at JFK before our final flight home. Since we were flying from Terminal...
South Korea: Seoul, day 3 – Seouljo, Gangnam, street food, two hour hotel transfer
After a filling breakfast at the hotel, we started the day on the Seouljo – a 1km long repurposed road made into an unexpectedly pretty raised botanical garden. We also scoped out an alternative...
South Korea: Seoul, day 2 – Changdeokgung, Ihwa Mural Village, korean bbq, Blacklist
Today was our full day for exploring and while I wanted to see 'all the things', I knew our energy levels would accommodate only one palace, so Changdeokgung was my choice. Entry to the grounds was...
South Korea: Seoul, day 1 – Cheonggyecheon and breweries
Our first order of business after landing at Gimpo was finding the train into the city. We found an ATM and got out some cash so we could purchase the one-way ticket to Seoul Station and our TPass...
Japan: Osaka, Day 2 – Minoh Falls and small whisky bars
At this point in the trip we were longing to experience some nature so when the sun came out on Wednesday we looked at public transit to Minoh (Minoo) Falls. Apparently, there was a delay on one of...
Japan: Osaka, Day 1 – Dotonbori
The 30 minute train trip from Kyoto to Osaka was easy and our hotel was just a short three-block walk from the Nippombashi station. We dropped off our bags with the friendly staff at the front desk,...
Japan: Kyoto, Day 3 – Fushimi Inari Taisha, Higashiyama, Yakitori, Hot Springs
Even though our feet were pretty worn out at this point of the trip we couldn't skip the 3.5 km hike through thousands of painted orange gates at Fushimi Inari Taisha. Many people suggest going...
Japan: Kyoto, Day 2 – Daigoji Temple, Konchi-in Temple, Tonkatsu, Bar Cordon Noir
A visitor is spoiled for choice in Kyoto when it comes to temples, so after eliminating a few options that seemed expensive or were partially under construction, we landed on Daigoji. It's located...
Japan: Kyoto, Day 1 – Imperial Palace, Higashiyama Jisho-ji, SferaBar Satonaka
After our short trip from Hamamatsu we arrived at the Kyoto station, where we sought out the two-day travel passes. With those in hand we took the subway up two stops to shave off some walking time...
Japan: Rugby World Cup, South Africa v. Italy
We got to Tokyo Station early to sort out the JR tickets and then wandered through the downstairs food court area to look for some lunch options. Picked up a half bottle of cava, two pastries and a...
Japan: Tokyo, Day 3 – Senso-ji, Ueno Park, Ramen Street
Today we started north, starting with a subway ride to Senso-ji temple. From the station, the walk to the temple is lined with shops and restaurants, and can get very busy. The temple grounds were...
Japan: omakase dinner at Sushi Harumi
While planning for this trip, I was looking up affordable places to try an omakase dinner experience. Omakase is translated as "I leave it up to you" and features a chef preparing multiple courses...
Japan: Tokyo, Day 2 – Harajuku, Meiji Shrine, Robot Restaurant
Eric had scoped out a pancake place in Harajuku for breakfast, but unfortunately Rainbow Pancake was closed (first Wednesday of the month - seriously?) so we ended up at Deus ex Machina for pizza...
Our Itinerary
2026 Trips
Parrish, FL (Jan)
Medellin, Columbia (Feb)
Asturias, Spain (May)
2025 Trips
Tampa Bay, FL (Jan)
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Feb)
Villa la Angostura, Argentina (Feb)
Bariloche, Argentina (Feb)
Iguazu Falls, Argentina + Brazil (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)
2024 Trips
San Diego, CA (Jan)
Sarasota, FL (Feb)
Madrid, Spain (Mar)
Valencia, Spain (Mar+Apr)
Palma, Mallorca (Apr)
Croatia (May)
Long Island, NY (July)
Faroe Islands (Aug)
London, UK (Sept)
Puglia, Italy (Sept)
Matera, Italy (Oct)
Rome, Italy (Oct)
Mosel Valley, Germany (Oct)
Frankfurt, Germany (Oct)
London + Manchester, UK (Dec)