What This Is All About
Originally we used this to post updates here periodically about our trip. Now it serves as both a repository of what we had written about the trip, as well as a place for us to write new content about our current and future travels.
If you’re unfamiliar with us or what we did (and are doing, I suppose), please check out our About Us.
What’s on this page
Our blog posts live on this page. However, if you’d like to see our photos, videos, or our coffee section, click one of the corresponding menu options at the top.
We created a map of our original journey below:
Argentina (A Reprise), Back Out In The World It has been more than two years since we officially gave up and ended our journey around the world. We had planned to travel for eighteen months but were forced to halt our adventure after only nine months due to COVID-19. Our stay in Taiwan, which had been intended to last for three weeks, was extended to three and a half months due to the pandemic.
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5 Things I Love and Hate About Israel
Yalla
After three months hopping around Europe, we opted to take an extended stay in Israel, spending about two months there. We split our time there into approximately a month in Jerusalem, a week in Haifa, and a month in Tel Aviv. As with any place, Israel has its pros and cons and much like my review of Argentina, I’d like to provide my perspective on 5 Things I Love and 5 Things I Hate about Israel.
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Madrid
All Spanish Roads Lead to Madrid
Spain’s capital city, Madrid, sits at an elevation of 2,188 feet. Compared with Barcelona’s near sea-level, it makes for quite a difference especially when considering weather and temperature in December. We left Barcelona in the mid 60s (F) and arrived to an average of ten degrees cooler in Madrid. During the daytime, the weather was cool but tolerable but once the sun set, the wind picked up and the winter chill crept in.
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Barcelona
In the heart of Catalunya
May I suggest one of my favorite books: “The Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. This is an enchanting book I read years ago, taking place in none other than Barcelona. It takes place in 1945; the protagonist is a young man named Daniel who takes you on a thrilling adventure throughout the city on his quest to solve a mystery. The author’s descriptions of the city were so intoxicating that I couldn’t wait to visit someday.
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Southern Spain
Please sir, may I have some Moor?
Ryan and I left lovely Porto and headed for southern Spain. Luckily for this portion of our trip my brother, Grant, and his girlfriend, Lili, came to visit! We met in Malaga, rented a car, and drove to Granada.
Granada Granada is a small city located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range (not to be confused with the Sierra Nevada in California) which has been heavily influenced by the Moors, and is home to the famous Alhambra.
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Porto
Drinking port in Porto, Portugal, near the port
Porto was a mere three hour train ride north of Lisbon, but the much colder weather we encountered felt more Baltic than Mediterranean. It was smaller and gave us a cozier vibe. Just like Lisbon, we had no problem communicating in English here and quickly established a favorite coffee shop that wasn’t far from our Airbnb.
On the first day of good weather, we utilized our time by exploring Porto’s namesake port tasting- more specifically, at Vasques De Carvalho.
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Lisbon and Sintra
Black and White and Colorful All Over
Rather than risking another unpleasant night train all the way from France to Portugal, we opted to take a cheap RyanAir flight from Marseilles to Lisbon. After grabbing a bite to eat and settling in at our Airbnb, we busted out the Rick Steves Europe app, and began the audio tour for Lisbon. It began at the enormous Praça do Comércio... ...and continued along a scenic pedestrian path through the middle of the city.
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Trading One Riviera for Another
A Nice Time in Nice
After spending over a month in Italy, it was finally time to go. We boarded the train from Genoa and started making our way along the coast into France- specifically the French Riviera.
Nice We arrived in Nice in the late afternoon and checked into our new Airbnb a block away from the train station. Unfortunately it was raining as we arrived, and continued to do so for the remainder of the day.
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The Colors of Liguria
Primarily green- it's all about the pesto
Leaving Amalfi The day prior to us leaving the Amalfi Coast was the final day the ferry to Salerno would be operating earlier than 10:00 AM. This was very unfortunate for us because it meant we’d have to take a bus to Salerno in order to catch our 10:00 AM train.
Up to this point, we had managed to avoid taking the bus during our time in Amalfi, save one reasonably unpleasant experience.
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The Amalfi Coast
Sunshine and Lemon Groves
We took our second (and mercifully last) night train from Siracusa to Salerno- ending up with not much more sleep than our first time, but thankfully there was running water and electricity this time around.
Once in Salerno, we boarded the ferry to Amalfi. We spent the better part of the day exploring the town of Amalfi, with a brief visit to Atrani- a much smaller and more relaxed version of Amalfi.
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