There is always a delicate balance on where to stay and visit on our longer trips - moving every night is exhausting and impractical, but we also want to 'see all the things!' While planning this...
Blog posts from churches
Italy 2023: Venice sights
We had three nights in Venice, which let us explore several districts primarily on foot. Monday After dropping our bags at the apartment we went for our first unencumbered walk around the city. Not...
Euro Christmas Markets 2022: Lille sights
Sunday The main train station, Lille Europe, had some nice indoor and outdoor art. I went back out after lunch to explore the fort area but couldn't see much. Instead, I headed back to the center,...
Poland 2022: Krakow sights
Rynek Główny The main square of Old Town Krakow is split into two sections, separated by the Cloth Hall - now an covered market for tourist items. There were daily protests in support for the...
Portugal 2019: Porto sights
Our first real sight of Porto was the train station, and wow! We weren't the only ones that stopped to admire the tiles. Besides the train station, most of the the sights we experienced were seen on...
Spain 2018: Seville sights
Monday My parents wouldn't arrive until the afternoon (or so we thought...) so we decided to do some of the walking-intensive activities they wouldn't care about as much. We started with the...
Alsace: an afternoon in Luxembourg
To avoid French toll roads, we took a route through southwestern Germany that reminded us of North Carolina with rolling hills, farms and small towns. This routing also took us right through the...
Alsace: a brief stop in Metz
After sailing through customs, collecting our luggage (that we were forced to check for no good reason due to an inconsistent/jerk BA gate agent) and picking up the rental car in Luxembourg, we...
Italy 2018: Naples sights
Several times on our trip Naples reminded us of a South Asian city, with its tightly clustered buildings, a fairly dirty and chaotic streetscape, and commerce seemingly everywhere. So while you can...
Netherlands 2015: daytrip to Utrecht
So many cities are accessible from Amsterdam that we couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit a city new to us. The hardest part was deciding which one to visit! After a little Google research, we...
France Nov 2014: Bordeaux sights
While we only had one night in Bordeaux, we found it to be a beautiful city with cozy side lanes, large boulevards, parks, and lots of shopping. As in Toulouse, there are a number of beautiful...
France Nov 2014: Toulouse sights
Eric was working during the day while when we were in Toulouse, so after putting in a few hours of work in the morning myself, I took advantage of some breaks in the rainy weather to explore the...
Scandinavian summer weekend: a day in Malmö
On Saturday, we took advantage of the hotel's free shuttle to the airport, where we could catch the train to Malmö, Sweden. I was struggling with the ticket machine so Eric suggested the ticket...
Spain 2014: Granada sights
Wednesday We slept periodically on the various planes and buses so when we arrived into town around 5p we skipped a nap and went out exploring. First we headed to the Alhambra store to print out...
Italy 2014: Parma
Saturday morning we took an hour and a half train trip through developed countryside to Parma. This was our first time in a compartment-style train cabin, and we were both in a middle seat facing...
Italy 2014: Milan sights
Friday After checking in to our B&B we headed to the center of town. From the San Babila metro stop we walked through the store-lined pedestrian street. Leandra had no luck on clothes deals, so...
Thanksgiving in Europe 2013: Prague sights
Thursday On our first night in Prague we walked through the old town square to Red Pif for dinner, and the views did not disappoint. Of special note is the beautiful old astronomical clock. ...
Thanksgiving in Europe 2013: Prague Castle
We dedicated our first full day in Prague to the famous large castle looming over the city center. It's hard to miss the towering spires from anywhere along the water and once you get inside the...
Our Itinerary
2023 Trips
San Diego (Jan)
Orlando (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Apr)
Northern Italy (Apr)
NC Mountains (May)
Long Island (Jul)
Wisconsin (Aug)
Chicago (Aug)
Bordeaux (Sep)
Rugby World Cup (Sep)
Castile and León (Sep)
Seychelles (Nov)
Willamette Valley (Dec)
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)