A little more than a year ago our friends Dave and Jake announced they were hosting a party and invited us to attend. Fellow avid travelers (we originally met in Peru on a train returning from Machu...
Blog posts from hotels
Scotland 2013: overview
Over the Memorial Day weekend we flew to the UK for our first visit to Scotland. Since we left on my birthday the lounge staff in RDU gave me a chocolate cupcake! This paired nicely with the Mumm...
Budapest 2013: overview
Leandra's grandmother was born in Budapest, and that has fueled her interest in visiting Budapest for several years. This past April we made our first trip, spending most of our time exploring...
Curacao 2013: food & lodging
Hotel Floris Suites - Unlike most of our trips, for this getaway we booked a package deal with airfare and hotel through AA vacations. We considered 6 different hotels, and though the Floris Suites...
Asia/Australia 2013: Great Ocean Road food & lodging
Hotel I originally booked us into a hotel closer to the beach, but thinking a B&B would be a nice change, I switched the reservation a few months back. Best decision of the trip. Nelson's Perch...
Belgium 2012: where we stayed
Grand Hotel Casselbergh, Bruges On our last two trips to Bruges we stayed at the Oud Huis de Peellaert, and while we enjoyed our stay both times, on this trip their sister property, Grand Hotel...
Helsinki 2012: where we stayed
GLO Hotel Kluuvi Since this was a short trip we only stayed in one hotel, and we were very happy with our choice of Hotel GLO. Located between the two main shopping streets in downtown Helsinki and...
British Columbia 2012: where we stayed
Moda Hotel, Vancouver Moda Hotel is in the central business district, several blocks from two of the airport trains stops, and well within walking distance of most of downtown. The entrance is...
Long Beach, California: where we stayed
Hyatt The Pike, Long Beach Since a conference was the reason for the trip to Long Beach, we focused on hotels within a few minutes walk of the convention center. Now, a Hyatt is attached to...
Israel 2012: where we stayed
Prima Galil Tiberias, Tiberias We choose the town of Tiberias because it was on Lake Kinneret (i.e. Sea of Galilee) and located between the various sights of Nazareth and Northern Galilee. The Prima...
Chile 2012: where we stayed
Tierra Atacama, San Pedro de Atacama Tierra Atacama is a small resort located on the outskirts of town. Our rate included everything from airport transfers, to food and drinks, to half-day and...
Asian adventure 2011: where we stayed in Hong Kong
While reviewing hotel options for Hong Kong we quickly narrowed our search to Kowloon, but had a hard time deciding between a hotel with a harbor view or one located along the metro line. Since it...
Asian adventure 2011: where we stayed in Bangkok
For Bangkok we booked two nights in Lebua at State Tower and our experience was decidedly mixed. Our room was quite large with a separate sitting area, small kitchenette, and a small balcony off the...
Asian adventure 2011: where we stayed in Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai: Le Meridian We've stayed at a few Le Meridian hotels in Europe since they are part of Starwood. In our experience they are chic-looking with good locations, but their service can vary...
Asian adventure 2011: where we stayed in Phuket
Phuket: The Pavilions Phuket Wow. The Pavilions was our favorite hotel of the trip due to the beauty of the surroundings and especially for their friendliness and service. This resort is actually...
where we stayed in Madrid
We initially saw the Hotel Silken Puerta America on VoyagePrive, one of the hotel-deal websites we follow, the day we switched our travel plans from Tokyo to Madrid. And wow! what a choice. This is...
where we stayed in Barbados
(long overdue post from April 2010) Peach & Quiet, Christ Church We only stayed here for one night before our flight to Dominica the following day. I am so very glad we didn't try to find this...
where we stayed in Belgium
Oud Huis de Peellaert Hotel - 90E/night, included buffet breakfast and wifi There are a lot of small nice-looking hotels in Bruges, but we choose de Peellaert because it was just a few blocks from...
Our Itinerary
2026 Trips
Parrish, FL (Jan)
Medellin, Colombia (Feb)
Wilmington, NC (Apr)
Madrid, Spain (May)
Asturias, Spain (May)
Galicia, Spain (June)
London/Cotswolds, UK (July)
Long Island, NY (July)
Ireland (Aug)
Vietnam (Nov)
Laos (Nov)
Cambodia (Dec)
Singapore (Dec)
2025 Trips
Tampa Bay, FL (Jan)
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Feb)
Villa la Angostura, Argentina (Feb)
Bariloche, Argentina (Feb)
Iguazu Falls (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)