Thursday Our only dinner reservation in Florence was at La Buchetta on our first evening, largely because we didn't know what to expect amongst restaurants there. We were seated promptly in the back...
Blog posts from International Travel
Italy 2017: daytrip to Chianti
There are many, many options to explore the Chianti region via daytrips from Florence. We immediately ruled out any that involved being on a bus with 50+ other people, so that left small van tours...
Italy 2017: Florence museums, Bargello & Uffizi Gallery
Florence was a major center of the Renaissance, and quite a few important art and architecture pieces remain in the city. On this trip we visited two of the highlights, the Bargello and the Uffizi...
Italy 2017: Florence sights and shopping
I have never met anyone who has been to Florence and didn't like it. It's probably a mix of the food, the gorgeous architecture and museums, and all the leather goods for sale. There is certainly a...
Italy 2017: CIBO Cooking Class
As previously mentioned on this blog, I love to take cooking classes in various cities around the world as local food is one of the best things about travel. Bringing home the knowledge to make some...
Italy 2017: Bologna
Wednesday After checking into our hotel we headed out to explore the town. But first, we needed some lunch, so we stopped into a small deli, Borgo979. They had a number of tigella, 4" round...
Italy 2017: overview
Last summer (2016) we noticed several good sales to Europe, so we contacted my parents to see if they wanted to go on another trip with us. Italy was their favorite option so we booked a week-long...
Winter Weekend in London: Sunday
For our last day in London we planned an itinerary that took us to four separate neighborhoods. First, we walked along Bayswater Road for the weekly Sunday Art Exhibition. Unfortunately, not many...
Winter Weekend in London: Saturday
We were hoping to see another show on our trip and checking the usual discount ticket sites wasn't getting us the results we wanted for Saturday evening. The Gielgud Theatre offers £15 same day...
Winter Weekend in London: Friday
Friday was definitely a day of culture! First up was the famous Natural History Museum, with all manner of mineral, animals, and lots of other science. I spent a half day here a couple years back...
Winter Weekend in London: Overview and Thursday
In November we found an outstanding deal for the direct flight from RDU to London, so we booked a long weekend trip for February. London is a favorite city to visit (2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012...)...
Malaysia: a day in Hong Kong
On trips to Asia it often makes sense to spend a long layover in Hong Kong on the way back (much like we do for London on return trips from Europe) so we don't have to catch crazy early flights for...
Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur, day 2
The skies were overcast and threatening rain but that didn't stop us from visiting the Perdana botanical gardens before we needed to switch hotels on our last day in KL. It was the only time on our...
Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur, day 1
Our flight from Penang to KL was pretty uneventful... we had business class seats for the short flight which included larger seats and a chicken satay snack that wasn't very good. Since it was a...
Malaysia: Georgetown
Georgetown Sights The street art in Georgetown was a big highlight for us, but there were plenty of other interesting sights. Lanterns and incense were in full effect, even in the heart of Little...
Malaysia: Georgetown street art
Georgetown has a lot of well documented and popular street art, so we spent a solid hour or two per day (before the temperature became oppressive) exploring the streets and enjoying the sites. All...
Malaysia: Chinese New Year
We knew that going to Malaysia during Chinese New Year could be disruptive in terms of restaurant closings and such, but we were hoping that a brightly lit Kek Lok Si Temple, thousands of Chinese...
Malaysia: Batu Ferrenghi
Where We Ate After arriving from the airport and getting checked in, we wandered around a bit, then ducked into Siggi's Beach Bar (at the Shangri-La) when it started raining. I had a glass of rose...
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)