The Faroe Islands – Remote and Undiscovered
Home The Travel Blog The Faroe Islands – Remote and Undiscovered Sky Fishing. Really. It’s a thing in the Faroe Islands and our hiking guide for the day, Jóhannus from Reika Adventures, was taught how to snatch sea birds as they fly around sea cliffs by his father and grandfather like they were taught by their […]
Antarctica – Exploring the White Continent
Home The Travel Blog Antarctica – Exploring the White Continent The sound of silence is absolute. We are kayaking near Adelaide Island at latitude 66.5°S – below the Antarctic Circle. It’s a balmy 2°C (36°F) in January which is summer in the southern hemisphere. The wind and the water are still. The silence is only […]
Torres del Paine – One Couple’s Patagonia Trekking Odyssey
Home The Travel Blog Torres del Paine – One Couple’s Patagonia Trekking Odyssey Trekking in Patagonia is pretty serious bucket list territory for anyone who has ever climbed or hiked and seen pictures of the iconic towers called the Torres del Paine (Pronounced: Toray del Pinay and commonly called “The Towers”) in Chile’s Torres del Paine […]
Fiordos de la Patagonia (Ferry through the Patagonia Fjords)
Home The Travel Blog Fiordos de la Patagonia (Ferry through the Patagonia Fjords) If you are looking for an adventurous way to travel through Patagonia, consider taking the passenger ferry from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales. The trip takes four days from noon on Friday to noon on Monday to sail 800-some nautical miles of some of the […]
Geneva Je ne sais Quoi
Home The Travel Blog Geneva Je ne sais Quoi Geneva has a Je ne sais Quoi – that certain indescribable quality. It’s an international city and a French city; it’s outrageously expensive but has free walking tours and free inner city public transportation; it has fine dining Michelin Star restaurants . . . and it […]
Lake Como, Italia Squisita (Exquisite Italy)
Home The Travel Blog Lake Como, Italia Squisita (Exquisite Italy) Lake Como brings images of fabulous villas and outrageous European family wealth. While this image is certainly true for some of Lake Como’s charms, it is far from all that this northern Italian lake located along the Italian-Swiss boarder has to offer for the casual tourist. […]
Hiking the 5 Terre (Cinque Terre, Italy)
Home The Travel Blog Hiking the 5 Terre (Cinque Terre, Italy) Cinque Terre is definitely Bucket List Territory. Many, many people pass through this lovely region of the Italian Riviera and check the box with a Cruise Ship tour or a quick excursion from Rome or “Do It” as an endurance trek from end-to-end in a single […]
Aye, I’ll have a Scotch from the Isle of Islay!
Home The Travel Blog Aye, I’ll have a Scotch from the Isle of Islay! The Isle of Islay is one of the Southern Hebrides Islands off the West coast of Scotland – and it’s also where the peatiest (yes, that’s a word to describe peat content in parts per million of scotch whisky) comes from. […]
Cashtal yn Ard, Ancient Celtic Ruins on the Isle of Man
Home The Travel Blog Cashtal yn Ard, Ancient Celtic Ruins on the Isle of Man How cool is it to walk around an ancient monument or burial ground in the middle of farm pasture? That’s exactly what you see when you visit Cashtal yn Ard (or the Castle of the Heights) on the Isle of Man, near the […]
Lisbon is for Lovers
Home The Travel Blog Lisbon is for Lovers Lisbon. Just hearing the name conjures visions of a romantic weekend getaway and this Portuguese city delivers. We visited Lisbon on a long weekend over Valentine’s day 2016 while we were living in Manchester in the UK. We stayed at Casa do Barao in the heart of Bairro Alto within easy […]
Reindeer Steaks for Thanksgiving Dinner
Home The Travel Blog Reindeer Steaks for Thanksgiving Dinner Really? Reindeer Steaks for Thanksgiving dinner? Well, thats what you get when you take a trip to the Arctic Circle over the US Thanksgiving holiday. While we were living in Manchester in the UK, we decided to take a trip to the Arctic Circle in Finland […]
Everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day – Right?
Home The Travel Blog Everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day – Right? While we were living in Manchester, UK we took a ferry from Hollyhead in Wales to Dublin for St. Patrick’s day 2016 and met our daughter from the US at the Dublin airport for a week of touring Ireland that ended back in the Temple […]
Dogsledding in the Arctic Circle
Home The Travel Blog Dogsledding in the Arctic Circle As Washington State University Alumni, we took particularly special pleasure in mushing Huskies in the Arctic Circle in Finland on Apple Cup Friday last year even if the University of Washington Huskies pretty well mushed the Washington State University Cougars on the field a few hours later. […]
¡Viva FC Barcelona!
Home The Travel Blog ¡Viva FC Barcelona! Even though we happen to be Manchester City Football fans after living two years in Manchester, visiting a World Cup Football stadium like Camp Nou in the heart of Barcelona is a lifetime, #bucketlist kind of experience not to be missed. We were fortunate to spend Christmas 2015 in Barcelona with our […]
A Quick Shave while Abroad
Home The Travel Blog A Quick Shave while Abroad One of the many pleasures of traveling is to stop into a corner barber shop and get a proper straight razor shave from someone who probably doesn’t speak English. All around the world, guys need to shave and a corner barber shop is a good way […]
Christmas Dinner in Barcelona
Home The Travel Blog Christmas Dinner in Barcelona Over Christmas 2015, we flew two daughters and one boyfriend from America to Barcelona for 2 weeks in an AirBnB apartment in the center of the Gothic Quarter. This is what we cooked for our Christmas Dinner. (You can read more about the full details of our […]
Iceland’s Ring Road – Keep the Glaciers on your Left
Home The Travel Blog Iceland’s Ring Road – Keep the Glaciers on your Left Iceland: Stunning, Spectacular, Amazing, Breathtaking, Beautiful, and Expensive. A trip to Iceland should be on everyone’s bucket list. Aside from the astounding beauty, it’s relatively easy to get to there with daily flights or connections from most US, European, and Asian […]
Kilimanjaro
Home The Travel Blog Kilimanjaro Kilimanjaro is serious bucket list territory. I did a lot of research for our group before booking our trip. This is where we ended up booking: Ultimate Kilimanjaro. Ultimate Kilimanjaro is the US Front for Zara Tours. We were very pleased with the price, the logistics, the staff, and the gear they provided. […]
You Better Belize it!
Home The Travel Blog You Better Belize it! In June 2017, we went to Belize to celebrate our 30th Wedding Anniversary (which is actually in August) with good friends who also got married in 1987 – it sounds so long ago when you say it like that. We flew through Atlanta to Belize City and took a 20 […]
Bent in Belize – Getting the Bends Diving the Blue Hole
Home The Travel Blog Bent in Belize – Getting the Bends Diving the Blue Hole Yep – I’m now a member of the dubious SCUBA diver’s club of Bent Divers. I got Bent in Belize while diving the iconic Blue Hole. The Diver’s Alert Network (DAN) reports that about 1,000 divers join this club anually out of the bazillion dives […]
Romantic Getaway at the Coeur d’Alene Resort
Home The Travel Blog Romantic Getaway at the Coeur d’Alene Resort The Coeur d’Alene Resort makes a great destination-staycation for a romantic weekend getaway for couples living in the PNW. Located on the North end of Lake Coeur d’Alene in Idaho, 40 miles east of Spokane and within an hour drive of several ski areas and championship golf courses, the Resort is particularly convenient for couples living […]
Oktoberfest in Munich – Prost!
Home The Travel Blog Oktoberfest in Munich – Prost! Oktoberferst in Munich is one of the world’s biggest and longest running parties. With an annual attendance of well over five million people and nearly eight million liters (2.1Mgal) of beer consumed, it’s hard not to have a good time. Getting to Munich is quite simple […]
AzAmazing Azamara Cruise from Rome to Athens
Home The Travel Blog AzAmazing Azamara Cruise from Rome to Athens So what do you do if 26 of your friends are going on an Azamara Club Cruise that Travel Leaders is putting together from Rome to Athens? You Go! Azamara is a luxury cruise line with two 700 passenger sister ships (the Azamara Journey and the Azamara Quest) […]
Fall Sailing in Croatia
Home The Travel Blog Fall Sailing in Croatia We knew when we booked our Benetau Cyclades 43 Sailboat “Go With The Flow” from Sail Croatia for the last week in October we were rolling the dice on the weather. What we didn’t know is just how fortunate we would be with five glorious days of sunshine and […]
Surfing Costa Rica – ¡Pura Vida!
Home The Travel Blog Surfing Costa Rica – ¡Pura Vida! In early March of 2018 I went with a couple of buddies on a Boy’s Surf Trip to Costa Rica. ¡Pura Vida! is a Costa Rican catch-all phrase for “the Pure Life” or “the Good Life” or “Hello/Goodbye” or “Cheers” or just, “Let’s Chill”. And we […]
Chicago Saint Patrick’s Day – Green Beer and Green River
Home The Travel Blog Chicago Saint Patrick’s Day – Green Beer and Green River It’s Thursday March 15th, 2018 at 8:00pm. We are having a few pints in Emmit’s Irish Pub. There are Bagpipers from Chicago’s Famous Shannon Rovers – ON THE BAR. It’s going to be a looong weekend. We have come to Chicago to see the […]
San Fermin, Running of the Bulls
Home The Travel Blog San Fermin, Running of the Bulls One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi and they’re gone. A 1,200 lb (550kg) fighting Bull runs 100 meters in about 8 sec and can sustain this pace for about a kilometer. Empirical data suggests a 185lb (85kg), 50-something adult male in full panic runs 100 […]
Sunrise Balloon Safari over the Maasai Mara, Kenya
Home The Travel Blog Sunrise Balloon Safari over the Maasai Mara, Kenya Silently soaring over the African savannah at sunrise, riding on zephyrs of wind above the animals below as the sun rises over the plains. Today we are in a hot air balloon on a sunrise safari over the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. The […]
Tramping the Routeburn Track in New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park
Home The Travel Blog Tramping the Routeburn Track in New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park The Routeburn Track is one of the Classic Hikes of the world alongside such great walks as Torres del Paine in Patagonia, the Inca Trail in Peru, and Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. It was recently featured in a 2018 National Geographic Adventure travel article. This 33km/20mi hike through Fiordland National […]
Diving the Great Barrier Reef
Home The Travel Blog Diving the Great Barrier Reef Kshuuuup-Blublablublabubble-Kshuuuup-Blublablublabubble-Kshuuuup-Blublablublabubble. The sound of my own breathing through my regulator is the only thing I hear. The only thing I can see is the dimly lit beam of my dive light and my dive buddy’s light playing in the void. From time-to-time I see shadows pass […]
Sailing a Transpac 52 in the 2019 Van Isle 360 Race
Home The Travel Blog Sailing a Transpac 52 in the 2019 VanIsle 360 Race “3 Boat lengths to the line!”. . . . “30 Seconds to the start!” . . . . “Trim the Jib! – Grind, Grind, Grind!”. . . . “4,3,2,1, Hike it out, we’re racing!”. This is what you hear from dozens […]
Africa
Home The Travel Blog Africa The countries that we visited on the six-week included: Uganda Kenya Zimbabwe Zambia Botswana South Africa Mozambique Seychelles Islands In addition, we round-tripped our airfare in and out of Dubai, UAE and spent time on the front and back of the African parts of our trip in that amazing city. […]
Southeast Asia
Home The Travel Blog Southeast Asia The Southeast Asian peninsula conjures visions of rice paddies, motor scooters, and street vendors. The heat and humidity are oppressive, the chaos of the streets and the markets is terrifying, and the generosity of the people is humbling. Traveling through Southeast Asia was way out of our comfort zone […]
New Zealand
Home The Travel Blog New Zealand New Zealand is an island adventure paradise with land and sea adventures to satisfy everyone’s taste for new experiences. Whether you are a thrill seeking adrenaline junkie looking for bungee jumping and white water kayaking or just looking to enjoy nature on a whale watching excursion, New Zealand is […]
Easter Island
Home The Travel Blog Easter Island Rapa Nui also known as Isla de Pagua xxxxx also known as Easter Island promotes itself as the most remote, inhabited island on earth with a resident population of about 8,000 people and 1,000 Moak Statues. Getting to Easter Island is not trivial. There are two flights per day, […]
The Grand Galápagos Islands
Home The Travel Blog The Grand Galápagos Islands Our flight from Quito, Ecuador only takes us two hours to arrive at Isla Baltra in the Galápagos Islands archipelago in the Pacific Ocean. The Galápagos Islands are part of Ecuador and the only way to reach them is by daily flights from Guyagil or by boat. […]
Skylodge
Home The Travel Blog Skylodge “We’re halfway there, are you feeling ok?” asks our climbing guide and photographer, Fernando, as we ascend 1,200 vertical feet (400 m) up the via ferrata climbing route to our glass skypods on the side of the rock wall. The Skylodge, located in the Aranwa Sacred Valley near Machu Picchu in […]
Machu Picchu
Home Amazon Shopping List Type C Electrical Adaptor fo Peru OR Three-Pack Type C Electrical Adaptor Hiking Poles Hiking Pole Rubber Tips 30 Liter Back Pack Sun Hoodie Rain Shell Rain Pants with full-length zipper Waterproof/Shockproof Trekking Camera Adventure Duffle Bag Camelback Hydration Bladder Social Share Facebook-f Twitter Google Linkedin-in Pinterest-p The Travel Blog Machu […]
San Sebastian Spain
Home San Sebastian/Donostia, Spain We visited San Sebastian/Donostia, Spain in the fall of 2022. You can read our story here: San Sebastian/Donostia Getting There One of the reasons San Sebastian is somewhat off the beaten path is because it is literally off the beaten path. The closest airport is the small regional airport of Hondarribia […]
Confounding Cuba
Home The Travel Blog Confounding Cuba Cuba: Fascinating, Frustrating, Beautiful, Friendly, Amazing, Backwards, Resilient, Communist, Socialist. Where do you even begin trying to describe this small island nation that has defied the world for more than 70 years? I suppose you start with resilient people who live fulfilling lives despite missing-out on the trappings and rewards […]
Paris
Home Paris We visited Paris numerous times while we were living in the UK and even celebrated Christmas 2014 in Paris with our daughters. Unfortunatley we haven’t compiled all of our notes to update this Destination page yet. If you have specific questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. – Phil & Diane, August 2016 […]
San Sebastian/Donostia, Spain
Home The Travel Blog From the stunning Playa Concha Beach to the legendary gastronomy scene, San Sebastian/Donostia, Spain & (Donostia is the historical Basque name of the city) is one of our very favorite European cities. Our first visit was in the summer of 2018 while we were in Spain for the Running of the […]
Nice
Home Nice Nice, Cote d’Azur, in Provence on the southern coast of France and on the Mederterranian Sea is the largest city on the the French Riviera which essentially runs from the the tiny independant nation of Monaco to Marseille and includes resort towns like Cannes and Saint-Tropez. Nice is a fabulous jumping off point […]
London
Home London We made many trips to London while living in the UK 2014 through 2016 but we haven’t compiled all of our notes to update this Destination page yet. If you have specific questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. – Phil & Diane, August 2016
Lisbon
Home Lisbon We visited Lisbon over Valentine’s day 2016 for a long weekend and had a wonderful experience, but we haven’t compiled all of our notes to update this Destination page yet. – Phil & Diane, August 2016 Lisbon [Photo: Open Door Travelers]
Isle of Man
Home Isle of Man We visited the Isle of Man for a long weekend in 2015 and we were amazed at the rich history surrounding this small island territory. Strictly speaking, the Isle of Man is a self-governing Crown Territory of Great Britain more like the Channel Islands than part of the United Kingdom like […]
Iceland
Home Iceland We have been to Iceland twice. Once to meet our daughters on a 4 day lay-over on their way to visit us in the UK in 2015 and and once in 2017 on a two week trip around the Ring Road. Our Ring Road Blog is under the Travel Blog Tab of the […]
Finland
Home Finland Finland, and particularly the artic circle is a unique, “Off the Beaten Path” destination. Nearly all trips to Finland make an inital stop in Helsinki. Helsinki is Finland’s capital and the largest city in Finland. Helsinki itself is a modern, comospolitan city and definitely worth spending a few days of layover exploring this […]
Dublin
Home Dublin Dublin is the capital city of Ireland located on the Eastern shore of Ireland where the River Liffey empties into Dublin Bay on the Irish Sea. Dublin is also home to Trinity College and the Book of Kells; the Guinness Brewery; the Jameson Distillary; and the Temple Bar Quarter where the St. Patrick’s Day Parade is […]
Berlin
Home Berlin Berlin is a a major European City and the capital of Germany. It is a cosmopolitin city rich with history dating back to the 13th century and it’s notable recent history of WWII and the Cold War. With a population of 3.7M people, you can spend a long weekend or several weeks exploring […]
Barcelona
Home Barcelona Barcelona is a Mediterranean jewel located near the border between Spain and France. This Catalan city has a rich history dating back to the middle ages and the Gothic Quarter is a revitalized neighborhood where Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand commissioned Christopher Columbus to sail to the new world and you can stay […]
Amsterdam
Home Coming Soon
Foodies and Spirits Around the World
Home Spirits Around the World This page is still under construction. Please email us if you have a specific question about this content. – Phil & Diane, August 2016 Travel Wine Sleeves are a great way to bring a few bottles back. Sir Ernest Shackelton had very strong feelings about his scotch. You can read all about them […]
Six Key Words Around The World
Home Six Key Words Around The World Yes, No, Please, Thank You, Hello, Goodbye These six words in a native language will get you a long way toward endearing yourself to locals. Unfortuantely, we haven’t compiled these six words into a format for publishing yet. Please email us if you have a specific question about a specific […]
Festivals and Parties Around the World
Home Festivals and Parties Around the World This is a teaser of the Fesitivals Around the World that we have either attended or are researching to attend: – Carnival in Rio – Carnival in Venice – Castells in Spain – Fringe Fest in Edinburgh, August 2015 – New Year’s Eve in Valencia, January 2015 – Oktoberfest […]
Trekking to Everest Base Camp
Home Additional Resources Concise Guide to EBC Trek Doofus Dad Goes to Everest Base Camp Ultimate Survival: Everest (TV Mini Series 2004– ) – Plot – IMDb Aftershock: Everest and the Nepal Earthquake (TV Mini Series 2022) – IMDb The Porter, The Untold Story at Everest Amazon Shopping List Everest Base Camp Trekking Map Type […]