We did it! Between COVID and cancer, I wasn’t sure we’d ever successfully pull off our European family trip. We did it though, and we’re now somewhere over the Atlantic on our way home. Everyone is still on speaking terms, which seems like about the best possible outcome. No play-by-play entries for this trip, but…
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This post is part of a series called Southeast Asia 2023 Wrapping up this blog series from somewhere over the pacific on the last leg of our trip home. We left Penang on Saturday morning, around 6am. After a quick stopover in Kuala Lumpur, we spent most of Saturday in the Hanoi airport. The original…
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This post is part of a series called Southeast Asia 2023 Our last day in Penang – sad to be heading back, but glad we had such a relaxing visit. We got up early again to have breakfast, because Kat had an Important Business Meeting at 8am (Dungeons and Dragons). I popped over to a…
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This post is part of a series called Southeast Asia 2023 We’re winding down our time in Penang, and we’ve ticked most of the items on our abbreviated todo list. We had to be up early so Kat could be on a zoom board meeting, so we got roti and kaya toast before the sunrise….
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This post is part of a series called Southeast Asia 2023 After a slow day yesterday, we needed to “get our sweat on” today. (Ok technically we sweat just existing here.) We decided to go for a hike around Penang Hill. First off, we had breakfast at the local hawker center, ticking some delicious nasi…
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This post is part of a series called Southeast Asia 2023 After a busy few days, we turned it down a notch today. We kicked things off with some nasi kandar and a trip to the laundromat. Nasi kandar is a “mix everything together and somehow it works” buffet and it didn’t disappoint – fried…
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This post is part of a series called Southeast Asia 2023 Somehow I never quite learn the lesson that “walking six miles to grab some tacos in St. Paul” is not the same as “hiking six miles with 2000 feet of elevation change in a jungle on the equator.” Should take about an hour and…
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This post is part of a series called Southeast Asia 2023 Two-for-one blog day, as Saturday was mostly a transit day for us. The hotel packed us to-go breakfast bags for our 5am trip to the airport, which was pretty nice. Everything went smooth at the airport, so we had time for a bowl of…
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This post is part of a series called Southeast Asia 2023 For the past few years, I’ve maintained that Hanoi is my favorite city in the world. With that in mind, I’ll admit I had a bit of trepidation returning for the third time. What if things had changed? After all, Vietnam is a rising…
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This post is part of a series called Spain 2022 Due to train, plane and meeting schedules, it made the most sense for us to spend a day in Madrid on the way home from Seville. We actually ended up with a bit over a full day – we got to Madrid mid-afternoon on Wednesday…
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This post is part of a series called Spain 2022 While I was at my conference, Kat got out for some adventures of her own. Follow along! Day One There is a small bar on the corner of our street where we decided to have our daily tostada and coffee. The local bread is like…
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This post is part of a series called Spain 2022 We’ve just arrived at a hotel in Madrid, after spending a few days in Seville for a conference. Though it’s been mostly a work trip, we had a bit of time to explore Seville and figured it was worth capturing before it disappears from our…
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Guidebooks can feel a little anachronistic in our age of social media, TripAdvisor, and customized search engines. However, I’m fully in the camp of thinking that a guidebook is one of the best investments you can make ahead of a trip. Allow me to try my best to convince you. Guidebook as a planning tool…
View MoreWhere should I stay? Well, it’s complicated. The options for housing when traveling have multiplied over the last ten years, from short term rentals to boutique hotel chains to group housing. There are great options at every budget level and for every type of stay. I’ve found it helpful to work out a mental map…
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Before diving into a recap of our recent trip to Nairobi, let’s get a couple truisms out of the way. First, when an American tells you that they’ve heard somewhere is dangerous, it’s a lot like a FIAT owner telling you to watch out for those unreliable British cars. Perspective matters. Second, when you live…
View MoreI Pledge Allegiance To the #Brand In past travel tips, I’ve talked about credit card points programs and frequent flyer accounts. However, there’s a whole world of loyalty programs out there, just waiting to turn your frequent patronage into minimally useful rewards and data for algorithms. Which of them are worth the effort? There are…
View MoreThe smartphone and the rise of “micromobility” have dramatically changed the landscape for getting around cities while traveling. When traveling internationally, the options compound further, with local and regional champions and city-specific modalities. Having a good grasp of the mobility options can make travel faster, cheaper, and more authentic, so it’s worth doing your homework….
View More“Earn miles when you spend! 2X miles when you get your hair cut by someone with a monosyllabic first name!” Pitches for “miles earning” credit cards are everywhere. Some of them come with all kinds of travel perks, some of them have very high fees, and some of them are essentially junk. Sometimes you earn…
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