Because 2 weeks of traveling isn’t enough
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More than 3 days on the Quilatoa Loop
One of the highlights of visiting Ecuador is trekking the Quilatoa Loop – about 25 miles in 3 days of steep terrain at high altitude (9300 ft) through pastures, canyons, and small towns with hostels. We love hiking, but after reading countless harrowing trip reports and being aware of the limitations of traveling with a…
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Las Lagunas Saraguro Homestay
We weren’t quite sure what to do with ourselves after arriving in the small community of Las Lagunas outside Saraguro, Ecuador. Set in the verdant Southern highlands, the scenery was stunning and our accommodation was charming with its rough-hewn wood furniture and thick woolen blankets (and even enough outlets to charge all our devices.) But…
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Market Days in Cuenca
It took us 10 days to write about the piles of beautiful vegetables and fruit in (and spilling out of) the Ecuadorian markets. In a country straddling the equator where you can drive from the coast to 14,000 feet above sea level in less than 4 hours, each elevation is finely tuned to growing its…
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Food in Torino
Every meal in Torino is a challenge. Do we cook or do we go out? Cooking The main market in Torino (Europe’s largest) is overflowing with the produce of the season. It wasn’t until our 3rd visit to the market that we discovered the hyper-local Piedmontese section that is still larger than most farmer’s markets.…
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Maira Valley Hiking
In the Alps to the West & North in Italy, there are dozens (hundreds?) of valleys. Some of them have roads connecting through to other countries. In others, the road ends abruptly surrounded by mountains. People have traveled these routes for hundreds of years – for sport, for livelihood, and nowadays for recreation. We are…
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Eating before 10 AM in Mexico City
Mexico City does not wake up early. Before Alice, we would not have noticed. After 3 weeks, we know: Don’t try getting food or coffee before 8 AM. As a note, if a place claims it opens at 8 AM, give it a 15 minute buffer. Here are the 3 major food groups (with a…
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6 Ways Mexico City is Great with a Baby (and 1 it’s not)
One and a half weeks into this working holiday in Mexico City, we’re getting a little better at travelling with an infant. We spend a little more time preparing for outings and a lot more time simply wandering. Of course it’s different than before, and of course it’s still great. Mexico City probably won’t make…
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Boudin & Alligators
When we booked our room in Acadia (Cajun country), we only 2 things about the area: the food and the bayou. After 2 nights, we still only really know 2 things. Driving in on the highway, one of the first signs you’re in Cajun country are the billboards for Boudin and Cracklin’ stores. Boudin is…
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Grocery Shopping in New Orleans
Whenever we travel, we tend to spend the first week figuring out the basics: best corner bar, simple language skills, where to shop for food. Traveling in the USA makes these tasks easier with review sites in our native language and far less cultural boundaries. The main challenge in New Orleans has been finding…
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Going out in Largo do Intendente
There are 3 main entrance avenues into the triangle-shaped plaza, Largo do Intendente. In one corner, you have “Little Bangladesh” with its Halal butchers, cell phone case stores, travel agencies, and teetotaler Bangladeshi/Pakistani restaurants. The next corner bleeds into Chinatown with its imported clothing and costume jewelry shops and Chinese food markets – all closed…
Got any book recommendations?