I'm just trying to walk myself home.
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Camino Beginnings or How You Know It’s Time to Go For A Long Walk in Spain The Camino de Santiago. It’s one of my favorite trails in the world. Not necessarily because of its beauty (though it is beautiful), but (and I realize how cheesy this sounds) what I really love is the Spirit of the …
Riverboat Cruise on the Mississippi River In October, my mom and aunt came to visit while Simon was still on Fall Break from school. And we all four took a ride on a short riverboat cruise. We boarded the Riverboat Twilight early one morning, while the sun was still rising. My Aunt Jeanne had told …
Michigan Fall Break So another Chino fall break highlight was heading to Michigan for our first time ever. (Check another state off of your list Simon!) We drove over on Saturday morning and after a quick picnic lunch (from Blackberry Market, of course), we went exploring. We hiked several trails where the forest floor turned …
A Visit to The Home of The Beloved Saint Francis of Assisi What can I say about Assisi? I hardly know where to begin. Maybe it’s best to start with the ending. As I left the convent in Assisi, the same nun who welcomed me in, took hold of my face and kissed me twice, …
Snapshots of Orvieto, Italy I WISH you could have heard me in the car when I got my first glimpses of Orvieto coming into view! “OH MY LORD, you have got to be kidding me!” I actually pulled the car over. (Because it’s just me and I can do that if I want.) The whole …
Snapshots of a A Walk to Civita di Bagnoregio, an ancient hilltown in Italy reachable only by a pedestrian bridge. So 2500 years ago, some very ingenious folks (Etruscans) built this city on top of a hill. Hill towns are a common theme in my travels around Italy, but Civita is special because you can …
Lake Bolsena: Driving tour around the lake from Montefiascone After enjoying the view of Lago di Bolsena (Lake Bolsena) from our hilltop town of Montefiascone, we decided to take a day to get closer to the water. We could not have had a more gorgeous day, so we took our time driving all the way …
Snapshots of Montefiascone a hilltop town in Italy overlooking Lago de Bolsena (Lake Bolsena). Here are a few highlights from my first days in Italy: Squeals of delight upon seeing dear friends. A room in a hilltop monastery with a view of the valley below. Wisteria-lined roads. The ancient town fortress of Montefiascone. Following cobblestone …
Hiking in Switzerland: Before we moved back to the US, we spent two weeks hiking in Switzerland together as a way to wrap up our four years in Europe.
The overnight bus left Berlin at around 9pm and arrived in Gdańsk, Poland at 4:45am. It was one of those nights you think will never end. Ben and I pushed against one another on the sticky hot bus, trying to get some sleep. I spent way too much time lamenting my unwillingness to pay for …
Potsdam, Germany is a fun and easy day trip from Berlin. Potsdam is a thirty minute drive from where we were staying in Berlin and boasts a garden that seems like a smaller and much less crowded version of Versailles. (Also it is free to visit!) So we decided to spend a day there. We …
Snapshots of Berlin, Germany From the moment we moved to Germany, Ben told us he wanted to go to Berlin. Every time we took a short trip, he would ask when we were going to Berlin. So as our year in Germany was winding down, we decided we needed to make it happen. We rented …
I think that a Yoga Retreat might just be the most perfect way to travel. It’s no secret that I love traveling. In the last few years, I have really been digging the kind of travel where you get to soak up time, culture and life in one single setting, like The Cinque Terre or …
Last spring we went camping for a weekend in Bavaria, Germany. From the moment we told folks we were moving to Germany, people told us we had to go and visit Neuschwanstein Castle (German: Schloss Neuschwanstein). It was raining when we stopped there on our way to our camping spot, but that was ok, because …
ROME ITALY The face I’m making in this picture could be summed up like this: OH MY GOSH I’M IN ROME AND THERE ARE A MILLION PEOPLE EVERYWHERE AND I WANT TO GO BACK TO TUSCANY BUT ACTUALLY IT’S REALLY BEAUTIFUL HERE BUT I’M EXPERIENCING SENSORY OVERLOAD SO…GELATO IS THE ANSWER FOR EVERYTHING! I am …
On our first day in Tuscany, my sister drove and I navigated. Between giving her the next directions (3 more kilometers on this road and then turn left) and catching up on stories about our kids, we were gasping at the scenery. Anna, look! Vineyards and towers on hills and cypress trees and red poppies …
The scent of ylang ylang filled the air, knocking me over with its sweetness. I looked up from the map I was following to stop and smell the flowers, then to see the columns, and to smile at the bright blue sky. A few blocks later, I found my hotel, dropped my backpack and crossed …
It seems ages ago now I walked the smokey gray cobbled streets of Antigua with my boys. We spent a couple of nights here after our week at Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. The city noises were jarring after a week of hearing mostly just the wind or the occasional boat motor. Antigua is loud and lively. …
Lake Atitlan Guatemala Over a month ago (or maybe it was a lifetime ago), we flew to Guatemala to join Taido’s family for a week on Lake Atitlán and a few days in Antigua. My mother-in-law has been raving about the beauty of this lake for years, so we were excited to leave winter in …
Winter Germany Walking Winter is finally letting up here in Germany, but we’ve had lots of snow and icy days since December. There have been lots of frosty walks, and attempts to get our faces in the sun. Although there were many days in January when there was no sun to be found. Still, the …