Tag Archives: Living abroad

Bucharest: A Diamond in the Rough. Part 2

You can read part 1 of my travels in Bucharest here. The day after Phil and I visited Cismigiu Park, we headed over to the Parliamentary Palace, truly a site to behold. The Palace is one of the largest government buildings in the world, with 1,100 rooms and 3,930,000 sq ft; only the Pentagon isContinue reading “Bucharest: A Diamond in the Rough. Part 2”

Bucharest: A Diamond in the Rough. Part 1

Phil and I left Budapest around 3pm and boarded an overnight train bound for Bucharest. We weren’t sure what to expect on the 15-hour train ride as we had read several different accounts of other people’s journeys. Basically we knew to bring our own food, water, and toilet paper as there would be little toContinue reading “Bucharest: A Diamond in the Rough. Part 1”

Take the Best and Leave the Rest Then Get Yourself to Budapest!

We landed in Budapest from Frankfurt and easily found the bus heading to the center of town (thank you airport information lady!) which was a much cheper option than a taxi cab or one of the many airport shuttle services. The bus was not crowded so we were able to comfortably sit with our bagsContinue reading “Take the Best and Leave the Rest Then Get Yourself to Budapest!”

An evening in Frankfurt

Phil and I arrived in Frankfurt around 5pm. We had booked a hotel near the train station as we had to take an early train to the airport the next morning to catch our 7:30am flight to Budapest. We stopped by the hotel, dropped our bags, and set out to see a bit of Frankfurt.Continue reading “An evening in Frankfurt”

Germany Round One: Home Sweet Friends

After a month in Albania (Phil wrote more about our last towns visited on his blog) we headed to Germany. Our friends Katie and Kirby have been planning a move with their sons to a small town near Frankfurt for quite some time and even when our other summer travel plans were up in theContinue reading “Germany Round One: Home Sweet Friends”

Albania Mania Part 2

After leaving the village of Theth (see part 1 of Albania Mania here), Phil and I headed to Lake Shkodra (or Shkodër, and to be more different the Montenegrins call it Lake Skadar so take your pick). It was a two hour drive, back down the mountain. We stopped at Rozafa Castle in the cityContinue reading “Albania Mania Part 2”

I Caught a Full-blown Case of Albania Mania (with a side of Montenegran salmonella)

Hi all! It’s hard to believe that Phil and I left Greece three weeks ago! Man, time flies when you’re having fun. Although I greatly enjoyed the food tour of Athens we did and I wrote about here, we did a lot more in our five days there which Phil wrote about here, here, here,Continue reading “I Caught a Full-blown Case of Albania Mania (with a side of Montenegran salmonella)”

Eating [my way through] Athens

I’ve wanted to visit Greece for a long time. Because it’s so far away from the rest of Europe, it wasn’t an easy add-on to our previous European travels. It is also a long flight (15 hours from LA). Though once we knew we were going to Turkey and then Albania, Greece, being between them,Continue reading “Eating [my way through] Athens”

Istanbul Part 3: The Princes’ Islands

The Prince’s Islands are a cluster of nine islands, the four largest of which are inhabited, located southeast of Istanbul in the Sea of Marmara. A former colleague of Phil’s who is married to a Turk and had visited Istanbul several times told him that her favorite thing in Istanbul was Büyükada Island, the largestContinue reading “Istanbul Part 3: The Princes’ Islands”

Istanbul Travels Part 2: Schmoozing, Boozing, and Cruising

Phil and I experienced so much in Istanbul I couldn’t possibly write about it all. I mean, I could. It is humanly possible. Phil is going to (try). What I am saying is that I could not possibly write about it all without taking an extraordinarily long time, and so I won’t; but I willContinue reading “Istanbul Travels Part 2: Schmoozing, Boozing, and Cruising”