KRIS AND TOM’S STORY
After a 30-year career in publishing, Tom Bartel and Kristin Henning shed their last publication, their house, and most of their possessions. In 2010, they gave their dog to their daughter and set out on a journey to see the world. Kris and Tom combine a love of culture with a love for the outdoors. Their travels vary between long stays in such cultural cities as London, Barcelona, Rome, and Beijing, detours to UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and spurts of hiking or biking in Europe, Australia, Asia, or through the National Parks of the United States.
Travel Past 50 reflects Kris and Tom’s appreciation of international cultures and active soft adventure. They’ve hiked in Spain, biked in Brittany, trekked through the Guatemalan jungle, and crawled over the glaciers of Patagonia. They’ve also spent months in London going to the theater, a summer in Rome studying Latin, three months in Florence studying art history, and have visited nearly every major museum and church in Europe. It’s a diverse curriculum, and one we hope you’ll like.
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OUR TRAVEL BLOG
We’ve traveled to more than 65 countries since 2010. Read all about it.
Churches and Other Images of Yaroslavl, Russia
The center of Yaroslavl is a Unesco World Heritage site. In Russia, it's the only city other than Saint Petersburg where the entire center of the city has that designation.
Visiting the City Center of Saint Petersburg, Russia
According to UNESCO, what makes Saint Petersburg, Russia a World Heritage Site was the building “the greatest urban creation of the 18th century” on the swampy estuary of the Neva River.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Belgium
One of the spectacular rooflines of the Grand Place of Brussels, a Unesco World Heritage site in Belgium. The tiny country of Belgium has 13 Unesco World Heritage sites, including the only museum, The Plantin Moretus Museum in [...]
Unesco World Heritage Sites in Australia
Yes, Australia's Great Barrier Reef is every bit as colorful as you thought it would be, and well deserves its Unesco World Heritage site designation. Get there before it's ruined. There's a great variation of Unesco World Heritage [...]
Welcome to the Jungle: the Mindo Cloud Forest, Ecuador
Traveling through Ecuador from Quito to the Mindo cloud forest can be both breathtaking and discouraging. I'll get to the breathtaking part later, but I wouldn't be honest about how beautiful Ecuador can be if I didn't also mention that it can be damn ugly, too.
Images from the Mindo Cloud Forest, Milpe, Ecuador
I chased this guy around for a while before I caught him landing and spreading his wings. I do love this shot of the blue butterfly in the Mindo cloud forest, Milpe, Ecuador. Patience pays off sometimes. [...]
A Photo Tour of Wadi Rum, Jordan
The best way to do a Wadi Rum tour is to stay in a Bedouin camp and let them feed you and drive you around. Early the next morning take photos at dawn.
The Treasury, Petra, Jordan
The so-called Treasury at Petra, Jordan is the iconic image that represents the huge ruins that run for miles, and provide the backdrop for the Indiana Jones movie.