A Week in Provence
We spent a relaxing week in Provence, from our home base in the hilltop town of Bonnieux.
Category: Travel
Stories and recommendations from our travels
Tasting Wine and Truffles in Alba, Italy
From Bologna, we traveled to the northwest of Italy, to Piedmont. On our last trip to Italy in 2018, our friends Pete and Kari joined us in Siena, then they traveled up to Piedmont...
Bologna: Europe’s Oldest College Town
I’ve always enjoyed visiting college towns – from Ann Arbor to Madison, to Cambridge, both Massachusetts and the UK. In 2021 we visited Coimbra, the home of Europe’s second oldest university, so this time,...
Two Weeks in Siena
We traveled to Italy and Provence in the fall of 2022 and it was great to get back to more normal traveling – no pandemic restrictions, no masks required – but the crowds were...
Coimbra and Fatima
The next day, we said goodbye to Olga and Fernando and headed south to Coimbra, just a short ride on the fast train from Porto. Coimbra appealed to me for a couple of reasons....
Porto and the Douro Valley
After our long week cycling in Alentejo, our taxi came to the farmhouse to take us to the train for the next leg of our trip, up to Porto, Portugal’s second city and the...
Exploring Alentejo with Portugal’s Best Cycling
After our first few days in Lisbon, we headed out for the centerpiece of our trip, our bike tour with Portugal’s Best Cycling. We followed Claudia’s advice and took the bus from Lisbon to...
Two visits to Lisbon
We began and ended our Portuguese journey with Lisbon. We started with a few nights to get acclimated and see some sights. Since we wanted to make sure we had enough time to get...
20 Days in Portugal
I’ve been dreaming about traveling to Portugal for years. I bought my first Lonely Planet guide right after I left my job in 2018. We visited Italy first, then circumstances kept us from going...
New Zealand Wineries: best regions to visit for Pinot Noir
We visited many New Zealand wineries during our 30 day trip. We discuss our favorite regions and experiences. I used to love beer and didn’t have much use for wine. After living in Portland,...