The Creator made Italy by designs from Michelangelo. – Mark Twain Hello, Robie here. I’ll be doing a few posts while Reid is completing her journey along the path of St James in northern Spain, the Camino del Norte. She and her sister are doing well and should complete their five-hundred-mile trek in roughly the … More Off the Beaten Path in Northern Italy
If you’re in a bad mood, go for a walk. If you’re still in a bad mood, go for another walk. – Hippocrates As my sister and I make our way across northern Spain here’s a description of the countryside from a scouting trip Robie and I made to the region a few years … More Riding the rails beside the Camino del Norte
How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese? – French President Charles de Gaulle It’s no secret Robie and I love cheese. While we’ve learned to make queso with gouda and pinched pennies to splurge on American cheddar in Europe, we really miss the shelves of French bries and bleus, rows … More Top 10: Cheeses
I tried visiting Albania, But I couldn’t find it on the map. – Oscar Wilde The best thing about traveling around Europe is the rail system. It’s fast, scenic, affordable and easy. Unfortunately, it doesn’t extend into the Balkans. Except for a few rail lines in the north of the peninsula and sporadic connections in … More 10 Tips for traveling the Balkans by bus
Food is our common ground, a universal experience. – James Beard In Sarandё Robie and I had time to explore the city’s many hangouts. Arriving in January we found few dining options open in the off season. Come March places that had been closed since the holidays began welcoming customers as more restaurants reopened across … More Our top picks for the best places to eat in Sarandё (and a few to avoid)
Everyone’s destination is the same; only the paths are different. – Sushmita Sen Hendaye, France – Saturday, June 11, 1983 A woman’s voice pierced the early morning fog crying, “Bordeaux?” in a high-pitched shriek. Nothing about the morning had gone right. Awakened as the train pulled into the station, our trio scrambled to gather bags … More The longest 500 hundred yards
Macedonia, of course, is part of Greece, yet I have decided to classify it apart. – Strabo Rounding out our tour of the southwestern Balkans, Robie and I visited North Macedonia in July. Though the country lies on Albania’s eastern border wedged between Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Kosovo, no one we met had been to … More North Macedonia: the overlooked Balkan state
I would rather own little and see the world than own the world and see little of it. – Madhu Shetty You’re standing amid the ruins of an ancient fortress where an important battle was fought in 1536. The site, high atop a hill, overlooks a former capital founded in the 13th century. Though the … More Where are you now?
Kosovo is a small country, but it has a lot of riches granted to us by God. – Ibrahim Rugova In May Robie and I visited Kosovo, the newest Balkan country. Located between Albania, Serbia, North Macedonia and Montenegro, landlocked Kosovo is mountainous with high plains, rolling hills and freshwater streams. The country was part … More Kosovo, the newest Balkan state
Autumn is a second spring where every leaf becomes a flower. – Albert Camus Timing is everything, and that’s especially true for travel. When prices plummeted in the wake of 9/11, Robie and I snagged a great deal on a cruise up the Nile. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, we wandered around Prague … More Is there an off-season on the Camino?
Reid & Robie 