We have long wanted to try an extended stay in Europe, but previously stuck to 1-2 week long trips due to our dogs. Finding ourselves dog-free for the first time in 15 years we decided to finally...
Europe Spring 2024: Istria restaurants
Pazin Peperone - Located just a few blocks from our apartment, we stopped in and made a reservation for dinner on our first night. It's a good thing we did, as a group of ~20 French folks had...
Europe Spring 2024: Istria wineries
Istria has a really interesting wine industry with a mix of international grapes (cabernet sauvignon, merlot) and locally unique varieties (teran, malajvasia). In addition, some spots have a...
Europe Spring 2024: Istria waterfalls
Pazinski krov / Pazin Roof waterfall - lightly muddy, but not too bad. Great water flow due to recent rains and I continued upstream for views of additional cascades. Zarečki Krov Waterfall - just...
Europe Spring 2024: Istria coastal towns
As a peninsula, you are never that far away from the Adriatic on Istria, and we stopped to explore three coastal towns during our visit. Rovinj One of the better known towns on the west coast,...
Europe Spring 2024: Istria hilltop towns
Istria has a lot of hills, and quite a few feature a town with a tower poking up from the middle. Over our long weekend we managed to stop by a handful. Pazin Our homebase in Istria, featuring a...
Europe Spring 2024: Plitvice food & drink
As it was a 15 minute drive on a rural road into Rakovica, we limited our trips, but still managed to try three places. Bistro Old Shatterhand - We had made a reservation for 8pm, but it was not...
Europe Spring 2024: Plitvice Lakes National Park
Plitvice Lakes National Park was an absolute must-do on this trip, and it did not disappoint. After a quick breakfast, we grabbed our backpack and were out the door before 8:30am. Our hotel was just...
Europe Spring 2024: Driving to Plitvice, Istria, and Zagreb
On this trip we focused on northern Croatia, spending the majority of our time near Plitvice and in Istria. That necessitated a car, and all together, we drove about 800km across small country roads...
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...
Europe Spring 2024: Croatia intro & where we stayed
Following our time in Valencia, we wanted to take the opportunity to check out a new part of Europe. After making a list of direct flight options from Madrid, then cross-referencing which ones were...
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)