Himalayas 2025: Bhutan – Paro (first and last day)
We started and ended our trip in Paro, home to the international airport and the famous Tiger's Nest monastery. May 7 + arrival The Paro airport is beautiful, first due to its valley location with surrounding hills, and second with the ornate arrival hall. Our bags...
Himalayas 2025: where we stayed in Bhutan
As we wrote in the intro post, the Bhutan portion of our trip was organized and booked by Raven Tours Bhutan. The accommodations were generally good — we had checked reviews beforehand and our expectations generally matched up. Khangkhu Resort and Thimphu Tower were...
Himalayas 2025: Kathmandu sights
We arrived in Kathmandu early on a Monday morning and since our hotel room wasn't ready we left our luggage and set out to explore. The streets were bustling and chaotic, with few sidewalks and all manner of vehicles. Our first destination was Kathmandu Guest House...
Himalayas 2025: Kathmandu cooking class
I choose the 2 Sisters Cooking School because they were a five minute walk from the hotel and they had tons of five star reviews. I did not regret my decision! I was collected on foot at the back gate of our hotel by Saloni who guided me to the cooking space after a...
Himalayas 2025: Kathmandu food & drink
On our first night we wanted to try momo dumplings, so we chose Thamel Momo Hut. We started with an order of ten chicken momos. This was our first time trying the Nepali red sauce, and it was spicy! The brown sauce had more of a nutty vibe. Leandra was still hungry so...
Himalayas 2025: Kathmandu, where we stayed
While the majority of our time was spent in Bhutan, we bracketed our trip with two nights in Kathmandu before Bhutan, and one night after. For the first two nights we wanted to stay in Thamel, a neighborhood with lots of tourist-friendly services, including laundry,...
Himalayas 2025: flights
On this adventure we took 8 flights during the first two weeks in May, visiting two new countries (Bhutan and Nepal) and re-visiting Doha. We also had time with Chicago family, plus our favorite business class! Qatar flights / DOH airport ORD > DOH: We've flown the...
Himalayas 2025: intro & insights
About 10 years ago I saw a trip report about Bhutan and I've been fascinated ever since. With remote monasteries, mountain vistas, and lots of wildlife, it ticked a lot of photogenic boxes. Visiting has long been pricey since the country charges a per-day SDF...
Boston, April 2025: sights
Friday The weather was quite nice on Friday evening, so we walked to the Charlestown neighborhood. Along the way we walked through several parks and enjoyed the spring flowers. After dinner we walked around Bunker Hill Monument too. Saturday We woke to a chilly,...
Boston, April 2025: food & drink
Friday We wanted to check out Charlestown, and Blackmoor Bar and Kitchen looked like a good starting point on the edge of the neighborhood. They were busy with several large groups, but we found two spots at the bar. I got an Allagash White, Leandra a Belgian Delirium...
Boston, April 2025: overview & where we stayed
In October we saw that a band we really like (Snow Patrol) was going to tour North America in 2025. They weren't playing anywhere in NC, so we looked through the available options. Boston looked like a good fit, with a Saturday night show, a reasonably priced floor...
Richmond, March 2025
We had two free night certificates expiring at the end of March that prompted a quick trip to Richmond, Virginia. Instead of using both nights we invited our friends to go with us. Altogether we were in town for about 26 hours. Our first stop was lunch at Ugly...
2023 Trips
San Diego (Jan)
Orlando (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Apr)
Italy (Apr)
NC Mountains (May)
Wisconsin + Chicago
Rugby World Cup (Sept)
Seychelles (Nov)
2022 Trips
Florida (Feb)
NC Mountains (Apr)
Washington DC (Apr)
Valencia, Spain (May)
Hilton Head, SC (May)
Pacific NW (Jun)
Long Island (Jul)
Florida (Sept)
Chicago (Sept)
Poland (Sept)
NC Mountains (Nov)
Euro Xmas Markets (Dec)