For our flight from Italy back to the US we had the option for a multi-day stopover in Germany. Not too far from Frankfurt is the bulk of Germany's wine region along the Rhine and Mosel rivers, so...
Blog posts from churches
Euro Fall 2024: a weekend in Matera
After a week in Valle d'Itria we checked out of our apartment and headed north to the very edge of Puglia and Basilicata, with Matera as our destination for two final nights in southern Italy....
Euro Fall 2024: Puglia coastal towns
Pulia is also known for its coastline, and on this trip we visited several of the sea-side towns. southern Italy map with coastal towns inset location Puglia coast towns we visited Towns we visited...
Euro Fall 2024: a weekend in Lecce
On one of our longer drives last year we listened to a podcast about Lecce and the baroque architecture in town. As usual, it made us want to see it for ourselves, so Lecce was a natural choice for...
Euro Fall 2024: Bari sights
There were three main spots outside our neighborhood that we explored: Lungomare di Bari, Bari Vecchia, and Murat. Lungomare di Bari is the seaside walking area. It's hard to tell from a map just...
Faroe Islands 2024: Day 4, Tórshavn and Kirkjubøur
Weather to the north was supposed to be cloudier, so we decided to explore south this day. Our first stop was the waterfall in Hósvík. We tried to find a place to park in town but had no luck, so...
Faroe Islands 2024: Day 1, arrival, Múlafossur, Bøur, Leynar and our airbnb
Our first task upon arrival was to scope out the duty free at the airport. Alcohol is notoriously expensive on the island with only a few dedicated shops sell during limited hours. We decided on a...
Europe Spring 2024: 18 hours in Zagreb
We had less than a day in Zagreb, but we tried to get a feel for the city nonetheless. Our drive from the airport to a downtown parking garage was relatively straightforward, followed by dropping...
Italy 2023: 24 hours in Verona
There is always a delicate balance on where to stay and visit on our longer trips - moving every night is exhausting and impractical, but we also want to 'see all the things!' While planning this...
Italy 2023: Venice sights
We had three nights in Venice, which let us explore several districts primarily on foot. Monday After dropping our bags at the apartment we went for our first unencumbered walk around the city. Not...
Euro Christmas Markets 2022: Lille sights
Sunday The main train station, Lille Europe, had some nice indoor and outdoor art. I went back out after lunch to explore the fort area but couldn't see much. Instead, I headed back to the center,...
Poland 2022: Krakow sights
Rynek Główny The main square of Old Town Krakow is split into two sections, separated by the Cloth Hall - now an covered market for tourist items. There were daily protests in support for the...
Portugal 2019: Porto sights
Our first real sight of Porto was the train station, and wow! We weren't the only ones that stopped to admire the tiles. Besides the train station, most of the the sights we experienced were seen on...
Spain 2018: Seville sights
Monday My parents wouldn't arrive until the afternoon (or so we thought...) so we decided to do some of the walking-intensive activities they wouldn't care about as much. We started with the...
Alsace: an afternoon in Luxembourg
To avoid French toll roads, we took a route through southwestern Germany that reminded us of North Carolina with rolling hills, farms and small towns. This routing also took us right through the...
Alsace: a brief stop in Metz
After sailing through customs, collecting our luggage (that we were forced to check for no good reason due to an inconsistent/jerk BA gate agent) and picking up the rental car in Luxembourg, we...
Italy 2018: Naples sights
Several times on our trip Naples reminded us of a South Asian city, with its tightly clustered buildings, a fairly dirty and chaotic streetscape, and commerce seemingly everywhere. So while you can...
Netherlands 2015: daytrip to Utrecht
So many cities are accessible from Amsterdam that we couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit a city new to us. The hardest part was deciding which one to visit! After a little Google research, we...
Our Itinerary
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, UK (Dec)
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)
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)