Chugging along from Spain, we took a pricy bus ($36/each) three hours northwest to the little principality of Andorra, a country which has remarkably been around for 1000 years and has never been involved in a war. Also yes, that counts as a new country for both of us. Andorra, swallowed by France on one side and Spain on the…
We kind of had high expectations for Barcelona. After all, we had been promised by many people who had visited that, "you'll LOVE Barcelona...even if you're not into cities" or "it's just different...you'll see." So perhaps, the initial problem was...our expectations were too high. But firstly, moving into another giant city was the least of what Mandy's foot desired and…
Segovia, Spain has a rich architectural legacy, including an exquisite gothic cathedral, a castle which inspired Disney, and a stunningly preserved double decker Roman aqueduct. Unlike Salamanca, this UNESCO world heritage city, Segovia is inundated with tourists, which is no surprise considering its one-hour proximity from Madrid and its offerings. It is also the home of the “suckling pig.” The…
For four centuries, the distinguished and elegant university town of Salamanca (population 150,000) attracted prestigious names such as conquistador Hernán Cortés (Yeah, the guy that wiped out the Aztec Empire) and Christopher Columbus who came here in 1486 on a fruitless attempt to get the university to fund his exploration plans. The town, draped in a seductive sandstone, deteriorated for…
It’s phenomenal what can happen in your life when you just will it to happen. And, sometimes things serendipitously cruise along at the perfect time, with the perfect people and the perfect place. We feel this way about this last minute housesit in rural Castelo Branco, Portugal, a place we never would have gone otherwise, and is an example of…
From Porto, we hopped a one hour train ride north to the town of Braga, a lively city which is one of the oldest in the country dating more than 2000 years. In fact, in the Middle Ages it competed in power and importance with Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Its cathedral is the oldest in the country built in…
Porto is one of those cities that is dripping with European charm...red roof tops, contrasting sapphire blue waters, port wine flowing like water, and azulejos bedecking every other surface you encounter. It has a long and fascinating history as a port city, endless captivating colors and pedestrian thoroughfares dotting the spaces near the Douro River. It's undoubtedly immensely walkable, and…
Well, we’d narrowly succeeded in dragging ourselves five days down the Salkantay Trek to Aguas Calientes, so now it was time for the Grand Finale…Machu Picchu herself. We’d both been waiting our whole lives for this! Of course, as we’d learned on the trek, nothing comes easy (without dropping buckets of dough) around these parts. But after navigating a ridiculous…
