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Destinations

Destinations, Montenegro

Settlers of Kotor: Climbing Ancient Fortifications (and Scheming Up Board Game Expansion Packs)

July 12, 2012

High atop the Mountain of St. John, ancient stonework fortifications dating back to Emperor Justinian’s 6th century construction projects overlook Stari Grad, the old town of Kotor, Montenegro. The secured land is prime real estate located directly above the valuable eastern European port city on the Bay of Kotor at one of the farthest inland points of the Adriatic Sea.

If the spot was on the Settlers of Catan game board, I’d claim it on my first turn. A sea port with mountain access, and industries of art, gold, masonry, iconography, and architecture? Yes, please. Continue Reading…

Destinations, Food, Montenegro

Kotor, Montenegro: The City We’d Never Heard Of and Olives We’ll Never Forget

July 10, 2012



Kotor, Montenegro bears a truly impressive setting and a mind-boggling, complex history. I’ll admit (same song, second verse) to not knowing anything at all about the city or the region prior to our grand overland experiment. Each new visit to a place inspires research and learning (same song, third verse?), and here’s the smattering I’ve pieced together about this corner of the world: Continue Reading…

Croatia, Destinations

Dubrovnik for a Day: Adventures on Lokrum Island

July 3, 2012

During our single day visit to Dubrovnik, Croatia on the way south to Montenegro, we managed to find the best food inside Dubrovnik’s old city walls and the best pastime just a ferry ride away at calm, peaceful, crowd-free Lokrum Island where its kaleidoscope of green and gold light waves and sea stones sends shimmering invitations to swimmers and sunbathers alike.



My only impression of Dubrovnik before arrival was something of a cross between spy rendezvous spot and Alias-style black screen with grunge lettering spelling out D-U-B-R-O-V-N-I-K to the sound of J.J. Abrams’ trademarked techno music. Eastern Europe continues to reveal my shameful ignorance of place and laughable alter ego as CIA agent.

Our single-day visit (and my subsequent Google spree) cleared up a few misunderstandings and made me wish for a masters in medieval history. Continue Reading…

Destinations, Musings, South Africa

Weekend Update: In Midair Above the African Continent

July 1, 2012

A short note this weekend. Our Mediterranean days have come to a close.

This post goes live while we’re (hopefully) flying peacefully through the air on a long trail stretching between Cairo, Egypt and Johannesburg, South Africa. We’ll have started the trip on a June Saturday night in Beirut, Lebanon and we’ll finish the final transfer to emerge in Cape Town, S.A. on Sunday the 1st of July: our sixth anniversary.

The last time we crossed this much distance, we did it the deluxe way: sixteen days on a couple-thousand mile journey across the Atlantic. This time, without bursting too far through time zones, we’re entering the Southern Hemisphere for the second time this year, and jumping from summer to winter in a matter of hours in one of those modern-marvel tubes of steel. Continue Reading…

Croatia, Destinations

An Evening in Split: Croatian Food and Wine With Friends

June 29, 2012

One of my favorite pictures from Croatia is an iPhone snapshot: Ted and Tony, chilling on the Drasnice waterfront with afternoon drinks and faux-gardettos.

At this point in the trip, we were winding down from our Italian race, grateful to show up in a little town of 200 people and be greeted by travel friends Meg and Tony who could show us the best of the sleepy beachfront bar, afternoon espressos, and Adriatic sunsets and also make time for an adventure or two. Continue Reading…

Croatia, Destinations

An Apartment in Croatia: Scenes from a Beachfront Hideaway

June 25, 2012

Cafe cabana overlooking the Adriatic sea on the Croatian coastline

Had you asked me about travel in Croatia before this year of visiting countries around the world, I’d have given you a blank look. Aside from briefly memorizing the open-jaw jigsaw puzzle piece shape to pass my junior high geography course, I didn’t carry much context for the Croatian landscape, food culture, or travel scene.

Ask me now, after spending a week and a half renting an apartment in Croatia on the shoreline of the Adriatic, and I’ll tell you how this beautiful little country hugs the water, grows fresh vegetables, serves up tasty fish, and caters to travelers seeking peace and calm and beachfront hideaways (provided they know to come before tourism season kicks into full swing!). Continue Reading…

Destinations, Featured Partners, Italy, Walks of Italy

Our Italian Job: Escaping Disneyland Venice

June 18, 2012

Ted and I watched The Italian Job on a date night back when it was in theaters. I bought the DVD and would turn it on it during college procrastination sessions. There’s that scene at the beginning: magical morning mist, a burst of pigeons rising in unison from St. Mark’s Square, and soon after, a speedboat chase shattering the calm of idyllic Venetian canals.

We were in Italy for a month, surely we could visit Venice, fall in love with the ambience, flirt with cliche, and make it out unhindered by the logjam of 15 million visitors who arrive each year.

Not forty five minutes in, though, and we were ready to call it a mistake. Such a shame, we thought, considering the city’s magical reputation.

We’d taken the train in from Verona, hoping to see the highlights before bidding Italy “Arrivederci!” later in the week. True to warning, sluggish crowds gawking at fake murano glass and glittered Venetian masks clogged the zigzagged streets. Shop windows, mobile stalls, sweaty bodies, pushy people, narrow walkways, dead ends, crowded footbridges and kitschy gondoliers wordlessly taunted us, “Suckers! You’re in for it now!” Continue Reading…

Destinations, Lebanon, Musings

Weekend Update: Beirut, Lebanon Round Two

June 17, 2012

This week was splendid. As you may remember, we’re staying with our friend Jodi here in Lebanon. After fairly brisk pace the last couple of months, we are sitting still (mostly) and getting some R&R.

Turns out, we picked the right city, but not for the reasons you might think. Beirut is a distressed city, a city very recently war torn, a place where many people-groups live at odds and in close quarters, a place where it’s easy to spot buildings still wearing machine-gun bullet holes on their walls.

But in part because of Beirut’s history of unrest, it has developed a culture of “oasis,” where there are countless places of rest, food, drink, and relaxation behind the rather disorderly store front streets. Thanks to Jodi and several other new-found friends, we have been introduced to delicious mezze, carrot cake perfection, and beer from the only micro-brewery in the Middle East.  Continue Reading…