In Summary... This was our second time to this Portuguese gem of a city…this time in much different circumstances. The first in May 2022 was a brief four days, warm, already congested and crowded, and I (Mandy) was on excruciatingly limiting crutches. The second, due to a 2.5 week housesit, was cool and rainy, easy to bypass any crowds, and I…
To Porto (from Baku, Azerbaijan) Our 38-hour westward odyssey from Baku to Porto...consisted of a series of unsatisfying siestas in stupendously contorted positions…three budget airplanes featuring a zero degree pitch on their seat back tilt…a hate/hate, literal on/off relationship with my now compulsory compression socks …and our saving grace thanks to our Venture X credit card, a stream of Shangri-La-ounges…
In Summary... Baku, Azerbaijan was an unexpected destination for 2025 on our way back to Europe from Central Asia, but it didn’t take long for us to become utterly enchanted by this underrated and under touristed destination. In fact, it’s a place we undeniably see ourselves returning to again, and though we needed downtime this visit, we’re also very eager to…
Arriving to Baku After a troubled ten days in Tashkent thanks to hotel registration issues, we were 100% elated to get out of Uzbekistan and onto our next destination of Baku, where we would be for coming 2.5 weeks. 2.5 weeks?! You might say….? True…it’s not long enough according to our new one-month plan, but we’ve got a VIC (very…
Happiest of New Year's to all of you! We wish you love, joy and happy travels in 2026! For us, 2025 began at a month-long housesit in the upside-down where winter is summer, and summer is winter. While listening to new carols which could really enhance the Mariah Carey selection like Six White Boomers and My Dingo Stole my Christmas…
In Summary.... Now that you’ve drooled over all the stunning architectural photos and listened to us drop every synonym for the color blue throughout our time in Uzbekistan, this post will begin to convey more of our real experience in the country…now that we’ve successfully exited. You can read about that story a bit more in the Tashkent blog post.…
From Khiva to Tashkent From Khiva, we were destined to rumble 15 hours back east to the Uzbekistan capital of Tashkent by overnight train. This time, because it was a lengthy trip, we opted to upgrade about 10% to the 4-bed private berth cabin rather than the more open 6-berth, which was still only $27.50/ticket. A real value for this…
Taking the Train from Bukhara to Khiva From Bukhara, we boarded another train to what would be our furthest point west in Central Asia and what was undoubtedly our favorite stop on the Silk Road…Khiva. Unlike the last, this train only offered sleeper bed seats making it a much more cozy experience for the duration of our six hours. Uzbekistan definitely…
