10 Postcards from a Brittany, France Bike Tour
Our first extended bike tour in our seven years of travel was a most enjoyable one arranged by Exodus Travels around the coast of Brittany. Kris has done most of the writing about what we [...]
What’s New in Florence Museums?
Changing exhibits, illuminated texts, mummy hands, and musical instruments are just some of our new discoveries in Florence. I never feel like I've seen it all, and I never feel like leaving this ever-evolving city.
The Aljafería Palace, Zaragoza, Spain
Looking through the Moorish columns at the main garden and courtyard. After the reconquest of Zaragoza in the early 12th Century, the Aljafería, the palace of the Moorish king of Zaragoza, was transformed [...]
Mapping 2015: Highlights and Snapshots
It’s been such a full year I needed to retrace our itinerary to get my head around all that we’ve seen in 2015. Initially, I just wanted to post some random images–previously unpublished–that have stayed [...]
Oslo to Bergen and Back: Across Norway
View over Bergen, Norway. In my continuing efforts to get all the goodie out of my Eurail Pass, I spent a week in Norway earlier this year, training from Oslo to Bergen and [...]
The Man on Norway’s Flåm Train
Cross country on Norway's Bergen Railway offers long views of snow, waterfalls, rivers and lakes. And skies. Long story short, I found myself in Oslo, Norway, with a Eurail pass and a week [...]
Seven More Reasons to Visit Southern France
Our visits to cities along the Rhône River valley in southern France left us wanting more. After one day in Lyon, for example, Tom was leading us to the Alliance Francaise school to check out [...]
Trip Totals: Accounting for our Whereabouts
This photo counts as one of my favorites: The Bernina Express rail line in the Swiss Alps. Apart from toting up income (not enough) and expenses (too much), we endorse counting up other [...]
Modern Architecture in Rome: Rebuilding the City
The MAXXI Museum can be disorienting. Is it dated already? Or does it recall peering into the ruins below Rome's streets? I don’t mind saying that travel has a way of reminding me [...]
The Bayeux Tapestry, Normandy, France
The Bayeux Tapestry was the medieval equivalent of a newspaper, or at least a speech by a politician. It tells the story in pictures and words of the rationale and the history behind the Norman Conquest of England. In fact, William the Conquerer, the Norman duke who defeated the English King Harold at the Battle of Hastings and assumed the throne of England, had the thing done only a couple of years later so he could explain to everyone his side of what happened and how a French guy ended up as King of England.