Category: Travel
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Porto: What to See & Where to Eat
A general summary of things to do and places to eat in A Cidade Invicta. This page is largely for our wedding guests but also other readers that may want a consolidated look at what there is to see and do in Porto. As the name suggests, Porto has a long history as an important…
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Germany & Me: Getting Back with Your Ex
When I moved to Germany a year ago, I was equal parts nervous and excited. Nervous because I was leaving the friends and community that I’d made in Portugal, starting a new job, and, for the first time, moving with a partner rather than moving alone. (Although that last part doesn’t seem like something to…
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COVID Life in Portugal
Last night I got to do what so many of my American friends cannot, and it’s unclear when they will be able to again: I sat in a large theater and listened to an orchestra. The theatre reminded me of a sparse lecture hall because people were so spread out. Everyone wore masks, including those…
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Traveling to Embrace Loss
When people asked why I was going to Germany for five days in late November, I had a few standard replies: I’m going to see where I used to live; I just want to go to a country where I speak the language; cheap tickets. I only told a select few the truth: I was going…
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The Most Portuguese Town in Portugal
I didn’t have a lot of expectations when I drove up the winding road leading to Monsanto. I passed two of the town’s famed giant boulders at a narrow turn and I could see the beginnings of the beige stone walls that I associate with quaint, European towns. My GPS had stopped working an hour…
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Why I Hate ‘The Beach’
Many people told me to watch The Beach before moving to Thailand. The scenery was to die for, they said, and the story was a classic expat-moves-to-Thailand tale. Maybe I would relate? I saved the film in my Netflix cue, but never got around to watching it before my move. During my year and a…
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How To End Up In A Sexy Convertible VW Bug In Hawai’i: A Short Story
When you’re jet lagged and running off maybe two hours of sleep, you forget to check the open/close hours of the place where you booked a rental car in Honolulu (which you only booked because it was so much cheaper than picking up at the airport). You take a city bus to the rental place.…
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Broken Hearts and the Power of Women on the River Kwai
The blue destination dot on Google Maps seemed far away as my two friends and I crawled out of the minibus at the Kanchanaburi bus station. It was nearing 8 p.m. We’d left Bangkok around 4:30 p.m. The driver shut the door and drove off, leaving us standing dumbly in the street. My two friends,…
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Trekking Through Sapa
When a desk agent from my Hanoi hostel asked if I wanted to book a hiking trip through Sapa I thought, Sure. Why not? I’d hiked plenty of times. I had a limited amount of time in Vietnam and Sapa was supposed to be a “must see” place. A hike seemed like fun. The journey…
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Expectations in India
While flying down an Indian highway at 100 km/h, I didn’t have the normal thoughts someone would have during their first trip to India: This is awesome! I’m in India! On a motorcycle! Why is there a cow in the road? Instead, at nearly 11 p.m. at night, after driving 470 km, all I could think was: Oh…
The Wandering Writer 