Madrid
All Spanish Roads Lead to Madrid
Posted on October 19, 2020
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3 min
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622 words
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Mollie Glovinsky
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. …
[Read More]Barcelona
In the heart of Catalunya
Posted on May 2, 2020
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4 min
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809 words
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Mollie Glovinsky
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 …
[Read More]Southern Spain
Please sir, may I have some Moor?
Posted on April 21, 2020
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4 min
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690 words
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Mollie Glovinsky
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 is a small city located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range (not …
[Read More]Porto
Drinking port in Porto, Portugal, near the port
Posted on March 8, 2020
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4 min
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725 words
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Mollie Glovinsky
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 …
[Read More]Lisbon and Sintra
Black and White and Colorful All Over
Posted on January 26, 2020
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6 min
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1245 words
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Mollie Glovinsky
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 …
[Read More]Trading One Riviera for Another
A Nice Time in Nice
Posted on January 18, 2020
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5 min
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994 words
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Ryan Glovinsky
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.
We arrived in Nice in the late afternoon and checked into our new Airbnb a block away from the train station. …
[Read More]The Colors of Liguria
Primarily green- it's all about the pesto
Posted on January 8, 2020
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9 min
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1916 words
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Mollie Glovinsky
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 …
[Read More]The Amalfi Coast
Sunshine and Lemon Groves
Posted on December 19, 2019
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7 min
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1321 words
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Mollie Glovinsky
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 …
[Read More]Sicilia
Land of Granita and Mandarinetto
Posted on December 16, 2019
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5 min
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1029 words
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Mollie Glovinsky
We left Arezzo by train at 8:30 AM to Rome, dropped off our bags, explored Rome all day (by walking over 18 miles), then hopped on the night train bound for Sicily at 11:00 PM. Yes, you read that right: you can take a train to the ISLAND of Sicily. There are no bridges from the mainland. The train …
[Read More]Walking through La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain
Once you've seen this church, you never need to see another
Posted on November 28, 2019
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Ryan and Mollie
Ambling through the Alhambra in Granda, Spain
A rainy day at a Spanish fort
Posted on November 22, 2019
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Ryan and Mollie
The Cable Car over Porto (Teleférico de Gaia)
Not the quickest car
Posted on November 15, 2019
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Ryan and Mollie
Toscana for Twenty Sunrises
Taking in the beauty, history, and gelato
Posted on November 12, 2019
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18 min
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3727 words
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Ryan and Mollie
(This article was cowritten, so paragraphs beginning with “M” were written by Mollie and ones beginning with “R” were written by Ryan)
M - After our sprint through Scotland, France, and Switzerland, we knew we needed to land somewhere for a good long while. This fit into our plan of setting up a …
[Read More]Views from Bellanda Tower in Nice, France
Hard to complain about views in the Cote D'azur (French Riviera)
Posted on November 5, 2019
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Ryan and Mollie
Viewpoint in Corniglia, one of the towns of Cinque Terre, Italy
Soak it in before the rain comes
Posted on October 29, 2019
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Ryan and Mollie
Hike from Ravello to Minori (Amalfi Coast, Italy)
Stairs that never end
Posted on October 27, 2019
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Ryan and Mollie
Helicopter Medevac takeoff in Maiori (Amalfi Coast, Italy)
Whirlybirds are interesting to watch
Posted on October 26, 2019
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Ryan and Mollie
The bottom of Sentiero Pennina (at San Michele in Amalfi, Italy)
And now we have to climb back up...
Posted on October 25, 2019
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Ryan and Mollie
Path of the Gods (Sentiero degli Dei) - Amalfi Coast, Italy
Catholics can be surprisingly pagan
Posted on October 24, 2019
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Ryan and Mollie
The views of Amalfi, Italy along the path from Amalfi to Atrani
"Amalfi" is probably Italian for "stairs"
Posted on October 23, 2019
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Ryan and Mollie
Hiking down from Taormina to the train station - Sicily (Italy)
Just a quick hop down, but not recommended
Posted on October 20, 2019
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Ryan and Mollie
Last day in Arezzo - Update #4
Five months in
Posted on October 16, 2019
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Ryan and Mollie
A Quick Dash Through Switzerland
See what you can before you empty your bank account
Posted on October 11, 2019
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10 min
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1988 words
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Ryan Glovinsky
Initially we wanted to spend a week or more in Switzerland, we’d heard amazing things. However, our plans quickly changed as we began looking into accommodations and the corresponding nightly rates. We started stripping down our trip, trying to maximize what we thought would be highlights, and …
[Read More]Paris, je t'aime
Wandering the City of Light
Posted on October 11, 2019
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9 min
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1911 words
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Mollie Glovinsky
So I have to admit, I was terrified of going to France.
I had been there before- one week in high school, on an organized tour, and I LOVED it.
However, all you hear is how the French, especially Parisians, despise Americans and will pretend not to understand English. Since Ryan’s language skills …
[Read More]Passing Through York
Should we refer to it as Old York?
Posted on October 10, 2019
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3 min
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509 words
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Mollie Glovinsky
For whatever reason, it was challenging to find a semi-affordable Airbnb in Paris. We had found a nice one and attempted to book it for four nights but the owner rejected our booking because he was "looking for someone to rent it for longer." _Have you ever heard of that before!?_ It was a bummer …
[Read More]Micro-roasting coffee at Caffe River in Arezzo, Italy
We got to take it home!
Posted on October 8, 2019
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Ryan and Mollie
Terror in the UK
Driving against your brain
Posted on October 4, 2019
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4 min
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831 words
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Ryan and Mollie
Bravely (or foolishly) Ryan opted to rent a car for our Scottish adventure, and took full responsibility for driving it the entire time. It might have been easier, but to save money, he opted for a manual transmission… in the UK- where you both drive on the left hand side and change gears with your …
[Read More]The Scottish Highlands
Farewell to the Highlands, farewell to the North...
Posted on October 4, 2019
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11 min
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2262 words
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Mollie Glovinsky
Farewell to the Highlands, farewell to the North,
The birth-place of Valour, the country of Worth;
Wherever I wander, wherever I rove,
The hills of the Highlands for ever I love.
Robert Burns
(Map from [Lonely Planet](https://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/europe/scotland/)) The Highlands are the part of …
[Read More]Rolling into Poschiavo on the Bernina Express
Horse vs Train
Posted on September 26, 2019
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Ryan and Mollie
Train wagon and views all to ourselves on the Bernina Express
Private car, not bad, eh?
Posted on September 26, 2019
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Ryan and Mollie
Tunnels and views along the Bernina Express
Trains can be loud
Posted on September 26, 2019
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Ryan and Mollie
Taking a look at the Landwasser Viaduct in Filisur, Switzerland
Aqueduct, Viaduct, whatever, same thing, right?
Posted on September 25, 2019
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Ryan and Mollie
Hike from Wengen to Lauterbrunnen
Not exactly a miserable descent
Posted on September 23, 2019
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Ryan and Mollie
Views from Wengen, Switzerland
Nowhere to go but down
Posted on September 23, 2019
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Ryan and Mollie
Glasgow
A modern Scotland
Posted on September 16, 2019
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3 min
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456 words
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Mollie Glovinsky
I seem to have a problem- everywhere we go, I decide I could live there. This rule held up in Glasgow! It is such a vibrant city, full of activity; and has such nice people. It was seriously quite amazing how open and friendly people were. We were taking a selfie outside of a restaurant and a …
[Read More]The Fairy Glen on Isle of Skye
Scotland is absurdly green
Posted on September 15, 2019
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Ryan and Mollie
Edinburgh
Pronounced as -burah, not -burg
Posted on September 15, 2019
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3 min
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609 words
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Mollie Glovinsky
I really wasn't expecting Edinburgh to be so beautiful! What a difference compared to Buenos Aires, where the style was all over the place in terms of architecture (younger city + no building codes + people wanting to copy Paris, London, and Madrid styles = no uniform look). Edinburgh's main flavor …
[Read More]Luss and Oban (Scotland)
Making our way into the Scottish Highlands
Posted on September 12, 2019
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Ryan and Mollie
London, Edinburgh, and Glasgow
Our starting point in Europe
Posted on September 10, 2019
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Ryan and Mollie
Overnight in London
A small leap across the pond
Posted on September 5, 2019
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3 min
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566 words
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Mollie Glovinsky
It was about time that we left South America and continued onto our next adventure…Europe!
We found tickets on Norwegian Airlines direct from Buenos Aires to London Gatwick, leaving at 11:00 AM and arriving at 4:00 AM. For about $700 each we were in their “Premium Class” (business class doesn’t …
[Read More]