We dropped off the car at the airport and took an Uber into the city. After relaxing in the room for a bit, I stopped into ALE-HOP to look for comfy socks and found a pair of fluffy rainbow slippers...
Blog posts from Travel
September 2023 Wine and Rugby: wine tasting in Rueda
Bodegas Muelas Walking the walls of the Cuellar castle put us behind schedule so we had to hustle several blocks from the (free) parking lot in Todesillas to make our reserved tour of the bodega....
September 2023 Wine and Rugby: Castilla y León sights
Cuéllar On the way to our first wine tasting in Todesillas, we stopped in the town of Cuéllar and paid 1,50€ each to walk along the castle walls. The access point was through a turnstile gate near...
September 2023 Wine and Rugby: daytrip to Peñafiel
The drive from Valladolid to Peñafiel was fairly easy, with most of the route through rural countryside (and a decent number of trucks). We stopped briefly at the necropolis ruins outside of town,...
September 2023 Wine and Rugby: Valladolid food + drink
La Parrilla de San Lorenzo - A traditional Spanish restaurant, this space is massive with large brick arches, knick knacks, and icongraphy. While it wasn't very busy when we arrived, they got...
September 2023 Wine and Rugby: Segovia
The 90 minute drive from the Madrid airport to Segovia was very scenic - just thirty minutes from the airport the road became more rural, culminating with a twisty road climb through forest up to...
September 2023 Wine and Rugby: Bordeaux food + sights
Food + Drink Aux quatre coins du vin - Hoping for the opportunity to try a few local wines, I booked us at a wine bar on Saturday night where we shared a card that allowed us to get a 3, 6 or 10 cl...
September 2023 Wine and Rugby: South Africa v Romania
Each of the host cities for the Rugby World Cup has a fan zone where you can go to buy merchandise, drinks, and watch rugby with a bunch of other fans on a big screen. Bordeaux's version was...
September 2023 Wine and Rugby: wine tasting in Bordeaux
After picking up our rental car from Avis at the Bordeaux airport, we headed toward Saint-Émilion to explore the town and wine taste... or so we thought. We found a parking space in the free lot...
September 2023 Wine and Rugby: 24hrs in Brooklyn
We started our adventure with an easy Uber ride to the airport, then our flight left on time AND we had an open middle seat between us - huzzah! Our room wasn’t ready at the Even Hotel when we...
September 2023 Wine and Rugby: Introduction
Our positive experience at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan lead us to highlight the 2023 tournament in France. This time around the ticketing process was more chaotic and difficult (thanks...
Labor Day weekend in Oak Island, NC
Over Labor Day weekend we were invited to stay at a house two blocks from the beach in Oak Island, NC - how could we say no? Oak Island is less than a 3 hour drive from our place, but we still made...
Midwest 2023: Chicago food + drink
While we up in Chicago for my Dad's ash scattering, we got to visit a couple breweries and escape for dinner once evening with my siblings. It was great catching up and being in the same spot...
Midwest 2023: three days in Wisconsin
In 2022 we had plans to visit our friend's house on Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin, but ended up cancelling. Determined to visit, we re-scheduled for August 2023, first flying into Chicago and renting a...
Summer 2023: overnight in Lancaster PA
On our way back home from New York we stopped for a night with our friends in Lancaster, PA. After unpacking the car, they took us to Lititz to check out some breweries and local shops. Downtown was...
NY Summer 2023: food
Over the weeks we were in NY we tried a lot of different food options, from restaurants with a view to farmstands and spots in between. Below are our notes: July 2 We arrived in time to spend the...
NY Summer 2023: wine and beer tasting
July 1: Long Island Farm Brewery We stopped here after a long day of driving to stretch our legs. Though this brewery is about 30 minutes from my parent's house we had never visited before. I...
NY Summer 2023: sights
We spent the majority of July away from NC, escaping some of the heat and humidity. Though we typically worked during the day, we had plenty of time in the evening and on weekends to check out the...
Our Itinerary
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)
Slovenia (Sep)
Treviso, Italy (Sep)
Bologna, Italy (Sep)
Turin, Italy (Oct)
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)
2023 Trips
San Diego (Jan)
Orlando (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Apr)
Northern Italy (Apr)
NC Mountains (May)
Long Island (Jul)
Wisconsin (Aug)
Chicago (Aug)
Oak Island, NC (Sept)
Brooklyn, NY (Sept)
Bordeaux + Rugby World Cup (Sep)
Castilla y León (Sep)
Seychelles (Nov)
Willamette Valley (Dec)