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Turin & the Langhe, Italy
On your first visit to Italy, it’s customary to start off with the “Grand Tour” – Venice, Florence, and Rome. For return visitors, you may want to see Milan and the lakes or Naples and Amalfi. If you should find yourself back in Italy for a third or fourth time, I highly recommend Turin, or Torino. I visited this vibrant city and the neighboring Langhe region in the fall of 2023 and was blown away by their beauty and authenticity…
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Madrid, Spain
Madrid is the first city in a long while that swept me off my feet. My inaugural visit was in May of 2022, and it was love at first sight. I wasn’t expecting to be so easily charmed, but the affable Madrileños, the beautiful buildings and squeaky clean streets, the abundance of green space, the distinctive cuisine – they all made it nearly impossible not to fall for Marid. This love story began – believe it or not – with…
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Costa de la Luz, Spain
After Seville, Charles and I headed to the Costa de la Luz, the western portion of Andalusia that abuts the Atlantic Ocean. This region stretches from the Portuguese border all the way down to Tarifa, the southernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula. We stayed in Jerez de la Frontera, the sherry capital of the world, and explored the coast via a rental car. It was the one place on our Spain trip where I felt like we didn’t have enough…
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Puente Nuevo, Ronda, Spain
Another highlight from my May 2022 trip to Spain was seeing the Puente Nuevo in Ronda. This stunning pile of engineering spans the tajo de Ronda, a 400-foot-deep chasm carved out by the Guadalevín river, which separates Ronda’s casco antiguo, known locally as La Ciudad, from the newer part of town. I hiked down (and back up) the Camino del Albacar to a mirador located on a rocky crag with jaw-dropping views of the bridge and, to my surprise, a…
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The Alhambra, Granada, Spain
Every trip has its favorite moment. On a recent vacation to Spain, mine was the afternoon Charles and I spent in Granada touring the Alhambra. The day began in Málaga, our base for four nights, where we got an earlyish start to make the 80-mile journey to Granada in our rental car. We took the coastal route along the A-7, Spain’s meticulously maintained Mediterranean corniche. It was a gorgeous spring day, with a cloudless sky and a beaming sun blanketing…
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Bodega Head, Sonoma Coast, California
After our stay in Napa, Charles and I were supposed to spend a few days on Lake Tahoe, but the multiple wildfires in the area thwarted our plans. As a last-minute alternative, we headed west to the Sonoma Coast, well away from the threat of wildfire smoke wreaking havoc on our eyes and lungs. While only 40 miles from Napa proper, the distance between is filled with several of those notorious California microclimates, making for a truly stunning drive. I…
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Pinnacle Gulch, Sonoma Coast, California
At the end of August, Charles and I embarked on our first trip by plane since the start of COVID. We flew to San Francisco and spent a week in Napa and on the Sonoma Coast followed by a few days in the city. I love traveling to California for so many reasons: the food, the wine, the weather, the endless variety of landscapes, and my favorite – the easy access to nature. On my list of things to do…
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Cape Cod, Massachusetts (Part 2)
Continuation from Cape Cod (Part 1) Charles and I love seafood. If you recall, it’s one of the key reasons why we chose Cape Cod – for its wealth of acclaimed seafood dining establishments. Avocet’s Nest did have a very nice kitchen, but after cooking every single meal for six months straight, we were both eager to dine out as much as we could during those seven days. I did do some research beforehand and catalogued a list of restaurants…
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Tulum Ruins, Riviera Maya, Mexico
It was a scorching December afternoon on the Riviera Maya, and I’m not quite sure why but my partner, Charles, and I decided to walk the two miles from our hotel to the Tulum ruins. Actually, I do remember why – it was overcast and rainy the two previous days, and we needed an escape from the dreadful resort where we were staying. With the sun blazing in a cloudless sky and the pavement piping hot, we were dripping with…
