Our daytrip to Antwerp in 2011 left us interested in the city, so we made it the middle city of this trip and spent two nights in town. The skyline of old town is dominated by Onze Lieve...
Blog posts from International Travel
Belgium 2012: Bruges food & drink
Beer De Garre - This small bar hidden in an alleyway is our traditional first stop in Bruges. The house tripel is amazing and only available here. Our whole group started there and then veered off...
Belgium 2012: driving in Southwest Belgium
On this trip we were determined to get to the St. Sixtus abbey (Sint-Sixtusabdij) in Westvletern, the home of some of the most-sought after beers in Belgium. While the monastery is (unsurprisingly)...
Belgium 2012: sights of Bruges
Our previous trips to Bruges were in Spring (March 2010 & April 2011) so it was nice to see the city with Fall color this time. On Sunday morning we first headed south meandering along the old...
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...
Belgium 2012: Overview
Belgium, again? Yes! Even after our previous trips in April 2011 and March 2010 (link 2) we recently returned to Belgium with our friends Meg and Drew, and this time included Drew's sister Tiffany...
Helsinki 2012: miscellaneous art in Tallinn and Helsinki
In addition to the Arabia art walk we also came across several interesting examples of art in Helsinki and in Tallinn. Helsinki Construction fencing mural on Aleksanterinkatu hello world not really...
Helsinki 2012: Arabia art walk, Hakaniemi, and city center
A few days before our trip I heard about a self-guided walking tour of the Arabia neighborhood. Arabia has long been an industrial section of the city and more recently become residential. As part...
Helsinki 2012: Tallinn food & drink
Clayhills Gastro Baar - After walking around in the rain for a few hours, we decided it was time to dry out and stopped in to Clayhills to try some tapas and Estonian beer. There were only a few...
Helsinki 2012: daytrip to Tallinn, Estonia
As someone who doesn't get seasick I seem to keep booking us on boat rides this year to Leandra's chagrin. Since Tallinn, Estonia, is only a 2 hour ferry from Helsinki I knew I wanted to make this a...
Helsinki 2012: sights of Helsinki, day 1
In 2002 I traveled to Helsinki for a conference (my first passport stamp!) but Leandra had to stay in Georgia. Ten years later we were finally able to get Leandra to Finland when we found a good...
Helsinki 2012: Helsinki food & drink
Teerenpeli We visited Teerenpeli for a light lunch on our first day in town. Conveniently they also brew several beers and ciders! We arrived right at their noon opening so we were able to talk to...
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: Vancouver food & drink
Yaletown Brewing -- Yaletown Brewing was mid-day snack stop plus a chance to sample their beer. I had the raspberry wheat and Leandra tried Downtown Brown- both were enjoyable but not particularly...
British Columbia 2012: Vancouver Island food & drink
Blackfin Pub - At the recommendation of our B&B owners and TripAdvisor, we hit this place up for a late dinner on our first night and for a more reasonably timed dinner on our third night (see...
British Columbia 2012: waterfall hiking
In addition to the waterfalls in Strathcona Park we visited several other waterfals on our Vancouver trip. Our mileage varied... Ammonite Falls We had some time between the ferry arrival and showing...
British Columbia 2012: Paradise Meadows
Following our first excursion deep into Strathcona Provincial Park we next forayed onto the western facing Paradise Meadows atop the mountain ridge. This part of the park is linked to the...
British Columbia 2012: Strathcona Provincial Park
Strathcona Provincial Park was a primary objective on our Vancouver Island itinerary, and we spent our first full day exploring and hiking around the Buttle Lake part of the park. The drive from our...
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)