Destination

A New Hemisphere

Some of the best experiences are unplanned—the ones where you show up with only your things and no preconceptions. You haven’t had time to build up expectations in your mind. It’s just you and the day ahead of you.

A New Hemisphere

The Last Days In Europe

It’s a strange feeling flying from Scandinavia to Spain in the same afternoon. That morning, I woke up early to take photos—not too early though since it was late fall in the high latitudes—before we made our way to the airport.

The Last Days In Europe

København

The first day, we spent $50 USD on tacos. In most parts of the world, that would get you between fifteen and twenty tacos, but in Copenhagen, it will only get you seven. Still, after two months any tacos is better than no tacos, and the Vikings use way more flavor than the French—désolé.

København

Leipzig

During our last week in Sevilla, Tori met several people through her Spanish classes. We formed a little group and met up for dinner or drinks in the evenings. One of the girls we got to know, Johanna, was from Germany and invited us to spend some time getting to know where she’s from if we were ever around.

Leipzig

An Afternoon in Austria

Through the mist, you could make out columns and facades in the Austro-Hungarian style. Hedgerows disappeared into the distance, and I began to wonder if Cedric Diggory might be around the next bend.

An Afternoon in Austria

A Detour Through Slovenia

Ljubljana feels like the authentic version of what most Western European cities tell you they are. Tucked away in an eastern corner of the Alps, Slovenia feels like Europe’s best-kept secret. There’s a magic and a charm to it.

A Detour Through Slovenia

A Week on Hvar

There are hundreds of islands off the coast of Croatia dotted with towns and villages that, at first glance, more or less look the same. But, each one has its own story, its own history, its own feel. For awhile, I’d been looking for a place to spend a little bit of time to refocus, to set the screens down, to not have to be ten steps ahead in my mind.

A Week on Hvar

Living in a Roman Palace for a Month

Walking the empty streets reminds me of walking through a dream of endless corridors—always wondering what’s around the next bend. The corridors don’t always make sense, and what seems like a dead end might just have a narrow passage to somewhere else.

Living in a Roman Palace for a Month

A Day in Bosnia

Bosnia and Herzegovina is one country with two names, three nationalities, three presidents, and one very recent wound in its history. It’s one of the more complex parts of the world that I’m still grappling to understand. As the Croatian border disappeared from view behind us, it didn’t take long for the difference to become apparent.

A Day in Bosnia

10 Things to do in Split

We had been looking forward to Croatia for awhile, and I had a sneaking suspicion that it would not disappoint. From the plane window, you see hundreds of sailboats dotting the channels between island after island. Red-tiled houses congregate around medieval churches, clocktowers rising above all the rest. Stepping out of the airport doors, the laid-back vibe is palpable.

10 Things to do in Split

Dalmatian Mornings

The best mornings start with a coffee and a walk by the sea. There’s a quiet buzz about the old town in the early morning light. Beneath ancient arches and along cobbled corridors, shopkeepers and city workers quietly get ready for the day.

Dalmatian Mornings

Birthday Island-Hopping

On our first morning in Croatia, I found myself sitting side-saddle on the front of a speedboat through choppy seas as Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” blared over the radio. My face cold as we cut through the morning air. The sun hung low from the East casting shadows from the mainland across the channel giving the whole scene a subtle orange glow.

Birthday Island-Hopping

Daily Life in France

The other morning, one of the bakers asked me a question. I paused for a moment, but before she could finish repeating the question in English, I had answered her in French. The guy behind me leaned around and in a very thick French accent laughed, “Oh, he’s good.” It’s the small victories lol.

Daily Life in France

Gavarnie

The trail followed a mountain stream out of the valley, and shepards led a group of horses along the other bank as we made our way toward the granite cliffs. The crowds quickly thinned, and we strolled along drifting from topic to topic as we gazed at the cold peaks etching their way through the cloud layer.

Gavarnie

An Old Friend in Lyon

Several summers ago, the family of the girl I was dating at the time hosted an exchange student from France, Pauline. I felt kind of bad that out of all the places in the U.S., she ended up in a forgotten whistle-stop in rural Tennessee, so we went out of our way to make sure she had a good summer from flying in the Cherokee to trips to Nashville and the symphony.

An Old Friend in Lyon

Un Après-midi à Paris

Paris is certainly one of those places. It’s the epitome of romanticization, but visiting the city in particular has never been at the top of my bucket list. After awhile, all of the big cities of the world start to blend together, but after hearing the wide range of opinions on it for most of my adult life, I wanted to see for myself.

Un Après-midi à Paris

A Stopover in Bilbao

The moorish palaces and bustling streets of Andalusia quickly faded into vast deserts and mountain ranges—the occasional highway or small town here and there. On the descent, clouds began to form, and in an instant, the mountains erupted with lush forests spilling over granite cliffs into the valleys below. Villages of red-tiled houses punctuated the landscape with the question: why weren’t we staying here longer?

A Stopover in Bilbao

Daily Life in Sevilla

I wanted to put a few lines together to give some insight, past the instagramable moments, into our daily lives here in Spain, and show that while it’s not all butterflies and rainbows, it’s still good.

Daily Life in Sevilla

24 Hours in Granada

Granada, one of the major cities in the region of Andalusia, is home to the most visited monument in all of Spain. It felt wrong spending a month this close to it and not visiting, so Thursday morning we decided to hop a train and spend a couple of days exploring the city.

24 Hours in Granada

Catedral de Sevilla

Stepping into la Catedral de Sevilla, the 112 degree heat of summer in southern Spain and the sticky, sweat-soaked masks on our faces faded into the background. Here was a place that had survived so many phases of history, war, and reconfiguration.

Catedral de Sevilla

Traveling to Spain in 2021

With travel restrictions loosening for various parts of the world, people are thinking more and more about getting back on a plane. Though, international travel may still be intimidating for some. This was our experience entering the European Union this summer.

Traveling to Spain in 2021