For the second half of our Vietnam trip we were in Hanoi twice, first for a single night, then for two nights. We carefully chose places based on quietness and breakfast options; unfortunately for...
Blog posts from Travel
Vietnam 2016: Bai Tu Long Bay with Indochina Junk
Ha Long Bay is one of the most famous sights in Vietnam and there are hundreds of trip options available out of Hanoi - daytrips, overnights, large boats, small boats, routings, etc. Given our...
Vietnam 2016: living cheap in Hue
The Vedana Resort graciously allowed us to take their free shuttle into Hue, which was appreciated, but for some reason we stopped at a different hotel. It seemed like our driver wanted us to drop...
Vietnam 2016: overwater villa at the Vedana Lagoon Resort
Between Hoi An and Hue we spent two nights at the Vedana Lagoon Resort. Quiet and peaceful, it was a nice change from the hustle and bustle of the towns. Upon arrival our bags were whisked away and...
Vietnam 2016: scenic views between Hoi An and Phu Loc
We had a nice driver from Hue Private Cars, he drove quite slow and carefully, and was open to stopping for photos. Our first stop was My Khe Beach (aka China Beach), quite close to downtown Da Nang...
Vietnam 2016: exploring Hoi An
Hoi An's Old Town is a UNESCO heritage site, and really quite beautiful and pleasant to walk around. It is clearly a tourist area, but in this case it doesn't diminish the charm as much as I might...
Vietnam 2016: food in Hoi An
Thursday Walking around town our first day, Leandra was ready for a snack and steered us toward Madam Khanh - The Banh Mi Queen. Just up the street from a row of tailor shops we found the small cart...
Vietnam 2016: My Grandma’s Home Cooking
I walked over to the meetup spot by 7:45am (!) to gather at the office along with three British women who were also taking the Market Tour portion of the class. After introducing ourselves, we took...
Vietnam 2016: custom clothing in Hoi An
Eric and I knew we wanted to get a few items of clothing made while staying in Hoi An, but the sheer number of available tailors was overwhelming. Given our three full days in town, it made sense to...
Vietnam 2016: hotel in Hoi An
Originally we planned to stay at the Goda Boutique Hotel, halfway between town and the beach. However, as we were packing for our trip we noticed the weather looked like it was going to be cloudy...
Vietnam 2016: overview
After a snowy February 2015 we decided that we needed to get away somewhere warmer for a chunk of February 2016. We eventually settled on a trip back to southeast Asia, this time to Vietnam. Our...
San Diego Breweries
Looking back through my draft posts, I realized that I never completed the beer post from last year's trip to San Diego. So! To keep better records, here is what we tried in 2016 and a list with...
Beijing 2015: Hiking on the Great Wall of China
One of our top goals of the Beijing trip was to experience the Great Wall given that sections of it are only an hour away from the city. After quite a bit of research we decided to try a hike along...
Beijing 2015: food & drink
Friday Great Leap Brewing #6 - located in a hutong, this brewery was a bit tricky to find - thank goodness for working GPS! We grabbed a table in the nearly empty tasting room and ordered a sampler...
Beijing 2015: 798 Art District
After a filling dim sum lunch, we tried to take an Uber out to the 798 art district, only to be thwarted by the language barrier. Thankfully we were at a hotel so we asked one of the staff to hail...
Beijing 2015: The Palace Museum (Forbidden City)
Saturday morning we awoke to an even smoggier day, but decided to continue with our plans to see Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Unfortunately, we found the smog obscuring Tiananmen Square,...
Beijing 2015: Lama Temple
After my morning at the Temple of Heaven and Leandra's morning in her cooking class we met back at the hotel to warm up and plan the rest of our day. Lama temple had been recommended to us, and...
Beijing 2015: Temple of Heaven
Temple of Heaven contains quite a few centuries-old religious buildings where the emperor would make sacrifices for the harvest, fortune, etc, and is now a large urban park. Just a few miles from...
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)