In 2020 we had planned on a Thanksgiving trip centered on European Christmas markets, as it had been 6 years since we were last in Europe late in the year. Of course, all of our 2020 plans were...
Blog posts from UK
UK January 2020: Bracknell
Bracknell is a convenient town for accessing my UK office, but it generally lacked interesting restaurants. After a multi-year development the downtown is completely re-done, including new...
UK January 2020: London
In mid-January I had a work trip to the UK which gave me some time to head into London. Leandra wasn't able to come on this trip, so I focused on theater shows and museums she was less likely to...
Euro summer trip 2018: overview, maps, and where we stayed
For summer 2018 a trip to the UK for work materialized, meaning a return to London and the Berkshire county area last visited in January. Since Leandra could travel with me we decided to tack on a...
UK July 2018: where we stayed
On the UK portion of our July trip we stayed in London and Wokingham. Ampersand Hotel - South Kensington Eric had stayed at the Ampersand once before and was happy to return for this trip. This...
Wokingham: eat + drink
Sunday After an easy check-in to the hotel, we walked 15 minutes into town for a cider at The Ship Inn. We ordered at the bar and sat outside in the shade as the air temp was gorgeous. The beer...
London: food + drink
Friday After my missed connection adventure it was nice to go out for some comfort food, so a trip back to Vicino for dinner was in order. We split the Sicilian Rosato special (a mix of sangiovese...
London: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Eric surprised me before the trip by finding tickets to the Harry Potter show, parts 1 + 2 for Saturday! Part one runs from 2pm to 5pm and Part two runs from 7:30pm to 10:15pm so we made...
London: Trump protests, Hampsted Heath
Since Leandra's arrival was delayed I had the afternoon in London by myself. By chance I was in town the same day as Trump, and protests were planned for several spots around London. Given the news...
London: getting there the long way
The original plan to get to the UK for this trip was for both of us to fly IcelandAir through Reykjavik, Iceland onto London. However. Right after Eric bought my ticket, the price for the same...
Scotland 2018: Speyside food + snacks
Thursday On our way to the Tomintoul Distillery tour, we grabbed some caffeine at the Caoldair Coffee and Craft Shop. I had a scalding hot latte that took me forever to drink (I finally had to get a...
Scotland 2018: Glen Grant garden walk
On Sunday morning before our scheduled Glen Moray heritage tour we took a detour to the Glen Grant Distillery to explore their garden walk. One of the few activities in Speyside we did that didn't...
Scotland 2018: Spirit of Speyside whisky bars
Besides the Spirit of Speyside festival events we also visited several of the famous whiskey bars in the area. The Quaich, Craigellachie Hotel, Craigellachie Located just up the road from our...
Scotland 2018: Spirit of Speyside independent bottlers
During the Spirit of Speyside festival we attend three events that featured independent bottlers, groups that buy casks through brokers (usually) and then decide when and how to bottle the insides....
Scotland 2018: Spirit of Speyside Craigellachie Bridge tasting
Just like in 2017, Craigellachie hosted a fun tasting on the beach next to the Craigellachie Bridge during the festival. In fact, in 2018 they held an event on both Saturday and Sunday! On both days...
Scotland 2018: Spirit of Speyside distillery tours
Tomintoul Our first distillery tour of this trip. Through the festival, we scored four of the ten tickets available. Unfortunately for us, four extra people were added to our tour group that also...
Scotland 2018: Fort William food & drink
Eric and I did not spend much time exploring Ft William itself, mostly using it as a jumping off point for Glen Coe but we did have some memorable eating and drinking experiences in town. Tuesday...
Scotland 2018: Isle of Skye – Fairy Glen, Mealt + Lealt Falls, Quairaig
Our luck with good weather held out for our full day on Skye, starting with some great light in the morning. We decided to work our way along the Trotternish peninsula clockwise, making our first...
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 + Rugby World Cup (Sep)
Castilla y 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)