Savogno, Italy – Here in Chiavenna, we are quite lucky that the trailhead to one of the area’s most panoramic hikes is our garden gate. When we are feeling up for something a little bit ambitious, our destination of choice is the mountain village of Savogno. It lies about 1,800 ft. or 1,400 stone steps […]
Brooklyn, New York — Looking at a map of the neighborhoods of Brooklyn, no one could blame you for thinking that it is a fairly mountainous affair. You have Clinton Hill, Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill and Vinegar Hill and these are surrounded by Prospect Heights and Brooklyn Heights. We’ve spent a fair amount of time over […]
New York, New York — Yesterday, they added the final small piece to the new tower number one at the World Trade Center, the crowning touch to the tallest building in the western hemisphere. We were on our way into the city so we decided to get off the train a few stops early and take […]
Portland, Oregon — For the last couple of months, we’ve been a bit stressed. Just a few extra curve balls that life tosses your way. Medical emergencies with the parents (on both coasts.) Hell, I guess these aren’t really curve balls. We should all expect these situations. And we do. But still, when they arise, BAM, […]
Opatija, Croatia — Have you ever dreamed of warm summer days spent frolicking along the Austrian Rivera? Nor have we. Of course we never would have have looked for it in Croatia. Wouldn’t have looked for it in Austria either for that matter. Yet, here it is. Twelve kilometers of Viennese coastline just north of Rijeka, […]
Plitvice National Park, Croatia — In our travels, we have seen many water elements; from the serene (Japanese Gardens, Portland, Oregon) to the spectacular (Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas) to the questionable (Center Field, Angels Stadium, Anaheim.) By far the most surprising lies in the middle of Croatia’s densely wooded interior and it was created not by […]
Rab Island, Croatia — It is a blistering hot day and the approach to Rab Island is unpromising. From the ferry, the entire island appears to be nothing but a enormous lump of scalding white rock. It seems the best strategy to enjoy a stay here would be to just jump off the boat now and […]
Lovran, Croatia — “Yes Sir, I see that you have a double room with sea-view and air conditioning reserved. And we have a note that you have a small dog along with you. You have reserved for one night. What’s up with that?” These were the first words that I heard on our Croatian trip and […]
Yugoslavia, 1979 — Great travels are usually accompanied by great expectations. Sometimes they fall a bit short but on the plus side, there is often a silver lining to be uncovered somewhere (see my last post.) Or not. As we headed off to Croatia last summer, I was skeptical of what lay ahead. My expectations were […]
Assisi, Italy — One more thing about vagabonding. You don’t have to turn into a hobo to do it. Sure it’s nice to have a couple of months to explore a destination but only students, some educators and insanely wealthy people can swing this. Bill Gates would probably be a great vagabond but he seems otherwise […]