What started for us as a mild obsession with food has morphed into a personal philosophy, a truism by which we weigh each new destination. If a people are happy eating, if they enjoy a variety of different flavors and techniques in their national cooking traditions, then very likely they themselves are also welcoming - with a full stomach and a warm heart they invite you to partake. Read more

You arrive in eastern Europe a wee pea, and soon the layers pile up. Before you know it, your once-self fits inside you about five times. Read more

Looks like we showed up here right on time. Read more

Being that we are traveling for a full year, our chances of one bad thing happening would seem to be pretty high. A two week vacation has common enough problems like losing luggage at the airport, or arguably worse, losing a few days to food poisoning. We are hoping the late night kidney stone emergency is our one really bad thing, and the rest of the trip moves smoothly. Read more
