Chiang Mai is the northern economic and tourist hub and second largest city in Thailand. The terrain is rather hilly leading to slightly cooler weather than points south. While not vertical like...
Blog posts from International Travel
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: Similan Islands
We'd read that Thailand's Similan Islands had some great snorkeling that shouldn't be missed, so we emailed the hotel concierge for some advice. Our hotel recommended Andaman Leisure Phuket (ALP),...
Asian adventure 2011: dining in Phuket
The Pavilions are part of Relais & Chateaux, a group of small boutique hotels and gourmet restaurants; Fearrington House, one of our favorite North Carolina restaurants, is a member of this...
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...
Asian adventure 2011: First class on Cathay Pacific
Our Asia trip started in style with first class seats from New York's JFK to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific. While we enjoyed flying international business class on our way to Amsterdam on Delta, the...
Asian adventure 2011: overview
In late December 2010 we began thinking about how we should celebrate our 10th anniversary, and naturally the conversation turned to travel ideas. We were especially interested in using our stash of...
end of year video – 2011
I am still sorting through hundreds of photos from our recent trip to Thailand and Hong Kong - in the meantime, here is a short video highlighting all our travels (both domestic and international)...
eating and drinking in the Netherlands
One of our favorite things to do in Belgium is sampling the great beer, so this trip was partially dedicated to sampling some Dutch beers. We sampled a range of bruins, trippels and lagers, even an...
where we stayed in Amsterdam
Our lodging choice was a B&B on this trip, the Sunhead B&B in the Jordaan area. The location was great- less than 5 minutes to pubs and restaurants, and a 10-12 minute walk to the main train...
day trip to Haarlem
We were getting a bit worn out walking all over Amsterdam, so for a change of scenery we hopped a local train for a 15 minute ride to Haarlem near the coast. De Adriaan windmill - open for tours of...
streets (and canals) of Amsterdam
Apologies for being so far behind on these posts! It feels like we have been on the road more than home for the last several weeks. Anyway, one of the main things we did in Amsterdam was wander the...
business class to Amsterdam!
Things have been a little slow around here (blog-wise) as not much more progress has been made on the screened porch (remind me to laugh about how long this took in about 2 years). Recently,...
Belgian beer! (part 2)
On our second trip to Belgium we were just as excited to revisit a few old favorites (de Garre! OMER.!) as we were to try some new breweries. Here's the beer list from our recent trip with where we...
visiting Antwerp
Instead of dragging our friends all over Brussels to look at churches and other landmarks (like we did on our first trip), we took a train north to experience another small Belgian city, Antwerp....
Brussels
On this trip to Brussels we spent more of our time simply hanging out and trying a few new bars rather than traipsing all over the city. Andrew and his handy iPhone app directed us to several new...
Royal Greenhouses in Laeken
As luck would have it, our visit to Brussels coincided with one of the three weeks that the Royal Greenhouses are open in 2011. As soon as I found out I made it my one must-see site for this trip....
In Bruges (again)
Thankfully, the rain let up for the rest of the trip and we were able to walk around Bruges without having to constantly duck into doorways. Spring was in full swing and all the green gardens and...
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)