
[Porto, Portugal, May 7, 2025] A rail strike that had just started sent us scrambling for other transportation options to Porto. Luckily, our friend Vessi, who lives in Lisbon, was aware of all this and got us tickets for the bus a couple of weeks prior. The tickets only cost EUR6 for a 3-hour bus ride! We had some time in the morning before our bus departed. I set out to get… Read More
[Waxhaw, NC / Greenville, SC / Athens, GA, Apr 2-3, 2025] I worked for the first half of the week and even moved locations. On Wednesday, I picked up my rental car from the airport and drove to Waxhaw, NC, a suburb on the south side of Charlotte, where my friend Lena lives. You might recall our visit to her house in October 2023. Unfortunately, we both had to work that day,… Read More
[Acadia National Park, Sep 23, 2024] For our second day in the park, I had two trails on the docket. I also hoped to make it to Jordan Pond House right as it opened at 11 am so we could have their famous popovers! This was an experience I didn’t want to miss, but it was a headache planning the hikes around that time and location. The two hikes I wanted to… Read More
[Portland, Maine, Sep 20, 2024] A work trip to Atlanta, GA had me eyeing national parks in the vicinity. I had to choose between New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia and Acadia National Park in Maine. I decided to go with Acadia. I would be returning to Atlanta in April 2025 and I figured I can do New River Gorge then. I took a red-eye flight from Portland, Oregon to… Read More
[Amsterdam / Zaanse Schans, NL, May 27, 2024] I couldn’t sleep last night, so I started looking at the Rick Steves Audio Europe app to familiarize myself with the Jordaan neighborhood walk. It turned out the walk goes right by the Anne Frank House, which I had a 9 am ticket for. So I decided to start the walk, pause for my Anne Frank House visit, then finish it. I was glad… Read More