Balabanova All Over

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Unless you’re paying close attention to a map, the proximity of some of America’s best national parks to both our southern and northern neighbors might elude you. Below are some easy sojourns into Canada and Mexico on a national park trip. Be sure to bring your valid (unexpired) passport! Victoria, British Columbia – day trip from Olympic National Park Most people get to Victoria on a cruise from Seattle or Vancouver. But… Read More

[Boise, ID, Sep 3, 2021] Despite Boise’s small size, there is plenty to do to fill a full day. Breakfast at Bacon We started our day with breakfast at Bacon (they’re only open for breakfast and lunch). As you’d expect, bacon features heavily on the menu. We couldn’t resist the bacon tasting, which came in these five tall shot glasses! I opted for the shrimp and grits, with a side of bacon…. Read More

[Vienna, Austria, Dec 29, 2019] Vienna has a special place in my heart – it was the first city in Western Europe I ever visited back in 1994 or 1995. My first visit back in 2015 was very special for this reason. This time around, I only had an overnight stay, but I wanted to take the opportunity to hang out with my friend Nina, who calls Vienna home. I was staying… Read More

[Sofia, Bulgaria, Dec 21-29, 2019] After gallivanting around Belgium and Luxembourg for a couple of days, I was ready to get to Sofia and just chill. One nice thing about already having been in Europe for a couple of days was that I was about over the jet lag and I could also get to Sofia at a normal time, during the day. When I come directly from the states, flight schedules… Read More

[Dinant, Belgium / Luxembourg, Dec 20, 2019] My second day was entirely taken up by a bus tour to Luxembourg I booked on GetYourGuide.com. This is where being an early planner almost got me in trouble. When I originally looked for tours to Luxembourg back in September, nothing was on the schedule for my dates yet. I wasn’t sure if it was just too early or they don’t do tours in the… Read More