With Semana Santa just around the corner, bars in Sevilla sell up to three times their normal rate of any tapa without meat… whether customers are observing Lent or not. Of course anything with cod is a big hit now, but espinacas con garbanzos are popular all year round. Tender, healthy & packed with flavor, this is a great way to get some veggies into your bar diet. Let’s get cooking!
Read More »recipe: espinacas con garbanzos
As a brief overnight stop between Alcobaça & Porto, I wish I’d had more time to explore Ovar. Situated at the northernmost tip of the Aveiro estuary, this city without tons of tourists was a welcome change… but between its beautiful tiles, great food & proximity to the ocean, I’m sure Ovar will be on the beaten path soon.
Read More »portugal: ovar
Just off the tourist track, this pantheon honors some of Spain’s most important political thinkers of the 19th century. New value has recently been given to this old idea, so I wouldn’t be surprised if more leading figures were placed here soon. If you’re at the Reina Sofia Museum, hop across the busy avenue & check out this hidden gem of Madrid.
Read More »madrid: panteón de españa
Our longest trail to date! If we’d kept going north, we could have made it to the next town in the same amount of time. I’ll have to confess though… this wasn’t my favorite trail in the area. Most of the hike is open, with little shade & little opportunity to see animals. But the stretch from the viewpoint to the main road is fantastic. Now you know before you go 😉
Read More »el pedroso: azulaque viewpoint
It’s that time of year again! As always, I write this for personal reasons but feel free to revisit the past year with me. The pandemic wound down, I returned to work & naturally bit off more than I could chew. Nothing new. But at least some sense of normalcy has returned to many of our lives, which for me means travel & more travel…
Read More »year in review: 2022
Our fourth trip to Iowa together may have been quick, but we managed to do a lot in short time. And our sixth wedding anniversary even had a few surprises for Rafa… what’s up for this visit??
Read More »road trip: midwest again
Designed by a French landscape architect for the 1929 Ibero-American Expo, Parque María Luisa was once the backyard of the powerful Montpensier family; in fact, Sevilla named the park after its Duchess donor. Today, this 34-hectare public space remains the largest green area in the city, full of many interesting nooks & crannies to explore. Let’s have a look at its past & present…
Read More »sevilla: parque maría luisa
During our recent trip to the US, I spent an amazing morning at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem. What a collection! One of the first pieces to catch my eye was a painting that reminded me of works I’d seen in Missouri by Thomas Hart Benton: richly-colored, soft & pillowy scenes depicting the American Midwest. I’d probably seen paintings by Dale Nichols before, but the above landscape from 1942 (Sunday Dinner in Franconia) made me want to learn more.
Read More »found: dale nichols
At the beginning of our trip to Boston, we had a difficult time keeping city limits straight. Fantastic public transportation that seamlessly covers the entire area had us asking ourselves: is this a Boston neighborhood or is it a separate city? I think we have it figured out now 😉
Let’s continue the visit by city…
Read More »usa: beyond boston
Is it still a road trip if you don’t use a car? In this case, I’ll say yes because Boston’s fantastic public transportation made car rental 100% unnecessary. And honestly, I don’t know how we could have seen more. This two-week trip was our first visit to New England, & what an introduction! We had a major mishap at the last minute, but the travel gods worked their magic & off we went. I’ve grouped our sightseeing below into neighborhoods for easy reference. We’ll get on the road after a bumpy start…
Read More »usa: boston