I fell asleep at 10pm last night -- a good thing because we had such an early flight. But then I woke up again at 11:30pm (!) and couldn’t get ba…

Now we are in Quito, the last city of this trip, the final hurrah. (Sigh.) We wanted to do it up right, but we arrived kind of late in the day, 4pm, …

To get to the Baltra airport this morning, we had to take a taxi to the ferry to the bus to the airport. Because of all these connections, we left 4 …

An uneasy heron has agreed to share the hotel patio with me, so here I lay on the hammock, watching him and about 4 million other birds aroun…

Our first stop today was the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island. This center was established in 1964 by the Charles Darwin Foun…

Our excursion today was to the island of Floreana (a.k.a. Santa Maria), which was one of the earliest to be inhabited by humans. There was no…

Last night was our first night onboard, so I think the ocean should have given us a break. But that was not the case... we rocked the n…

  Today we met up with the cruise ship that will be our home for the next four days, called the Seaman II. In addition …

As I sit in my hotel room writing this I am listening to a funny barking/yelping sound outside. It’s the Galapagos Sea Lions on the beach in fron…

We knew today would be a tiring travel day, but when we got into our airport-bound cab at 6am, we surely had no idea it would be 19 hours before we…

Steve and I keep finding ourselves back in Buenos Aires. It’s been the hub for all the mini trips we have made in this region, and by now I kno…

According to my guidebook, there are over 350 waterfalls here in Iguaza. We really did our best to see them all today! And it all lived up to my hi…

We are back in Argentina, this time at the Iguazú Falls about 840 miles NE of Buenos Aires. I was starting to think I’d be in those jeans until …

Today we had to drive from Colonia to Montevideo, but first we set off in the opposite direction. Steve and I wanted to check out Aarón de Ancho…

We had perfectly gorgeous weather as we explored Colonia today. Sunshine, clear sky, cool but not cold… wonderful. The Old Town is not huge, but …

Packing up our stuff, checking out of the hotel, and picking up the rental car felt like such a chore today. Maybe it was the gray sky and drizzle,…

Last night when we arrived at the Radisson here in Montevideo, there was an issue with our reservation, made through Expedia. They didn’t hav…

Goal: get from Puerto Madryn, Argentina to Montevideo, Uruguay. - Breakfast /pack/ check out / one last scan for whales  (2 hrs)- Wait in hote…

After just a few days in Patagonia, I have actually lost count of how many whales I’ve seen. All one must do is scan the waters -- chances …

Well this was another incredible day in our Patagonian Paradise. It started with a little hike with our nice guide from the hotel. (The hotel…

Our hotel on Punta Delgado is conveniently located near a beach where a large herd of Elephant Seals like to hang out during the month of September…

Today we flew south from Buenos Aires to the region of Patagonia. When we landed in Puerto Madryn, there was some issue with our car rental (Budg…

This was our last day in Buenos Aires. We had been planning all along to spend it in the neighborhood of San Telmo, where a Sunday market lines the…

It was a very cold, gray, rainy day in Buenos Aires as we set off for our first destination: Colón Theatre. According to the guidebook, it one of …

Our destination today was the neighborhood of Palermo, which ended up being the nicest neighborhood we’ve been to yet in Buenos Aires. It was cut…

We walked, walked, walked today, taking care of some errands and seeing some sights too. The best part of our day was our lunch at the El Palacio d…

Still have a nasty cold and cough, but felt a little cabin feverish today, so Steve and I decided to check out the nearby Recoleta Cemetery. It was…

I must have picked up a cold in London. On the flight from there, my throat really hurt, and today it was joined by a cough and runny nose. UGH. So…

This was a very, loooong travel day, spent getting from Europe to South America.  We got up at 4am to catch an express bus to Heathrow. Our …

Once again we started the day with big plans to see LOTS of things in London. And once again, we were foiled by one really excellent museum, wh…

Although I woke up just a little too early after our late night out, I felt good and ready to tackle London. Steve and I had a list of recommenda…

Our flight from Prague to London was on EasyJet, a budget carrier with no assigned seating. Your position in the plane depends on how early you…

Way back in the 16th century, when faced with an abundance of human bones and nowhere to put them (they were excavated during a construction pr…

Our first mission for the day: explore Prague’s New Town. Our second mission for the day: drink Czech beer.  (Guess which was more fun!?) In…

Prague’s Jewish Quarter was once home to about 35,000 Jews, but under Nazi occupation most of its residents were deported to concentration ca…

We covered serious ground today, all on foot. Yes, Prague offers public transportation options such as a tramline and a metro, but you could mi…

Since we have six nights here in Prague, Steve and I didn’t feel the need to dash off to the main attractions this morning. We left the guidebo…

Our flight out of Dubrovnik was scheduled for late in the evening, which gave us way too much time to kill today. We’ve thoroughly visited the ar…

Normally, I studiously avoid anything that could be construed as the least bit disturbing. I am squeamish. I shun movies with violence. I loo…

It is estimated that over 100,00 people were killed in the Bosnian War that took place between 1992 and 1995. Of all the conflicts that occurred du…

When we checked in to our apartment here in Cavtat, I was drawn like a magnet to a table in the reception area stacked with a disparate collectio…

I love that we can drive an hour and be in a new country, where a different language is spoken and different foods are served. It’s old h…

When the dive master handed me a thick (5 mil) full-length wetsuit, it didn’t cause me too much concern. I asked, “Is it cold here?” and he s…

Steve and I were warned that parking in Dubrovnik would be challenging at best, and that it would be best to take a ferry. So we shelled out $50 (!…

The coastal road from Split to Dubrovnik was slow going, high up on the cliff side, with all sorts of twists, turns and many exasperatingly slo…

Today was a special “bank holiday” in Croatia, which means that everything -- even the grocery stores (!) -- was closed. We and dozen…

We left Opatija fairly early for our long drive, anticipating Romanian-like conditions. But there were no construction delays, no stop-and-go tra…

In the northernmost corner of Croatia there is a peninsula called Istria. This small triangle of land borders Slovenia in the north, and just a sho…

Opatija is a long, narrow city, snaked out along the coast of the Adriaic Sea. It is fronted by a stone promenade, which my guidebook says exte…

Dinner in CroatiaYou would think that driving from Slovenia to Italy and back through Slovenia to Croatia would take a long time. Days, perhaps…

Breakfast in SloveniaThe breakfast buffet at Grand Union Hotel is very nice -- we will miss it, and lovely Ljubljana, too. We checked out of th…

Lunch in ItalyThe entry into Italy was pretty anti-climatic. No passport stamp, no immigration, we just drove right in. But still...it's nice…

Lovely Ljubljana was pretty well closed for business again this Sunday morning, but there was a street market of sorts, with vendors selling antiqu…

Today we had breakfast in Budapest, flew to Zagreb and picked up a rental car, then arrived in Ljubljana well in time for dinner. Three European capi…

(A quick blog again today, as all this writing is interrupting my Olympic game viewing and my time in Slovenia!)Budapest is huge, with sooo many th…

When Steve and I arrived in Budapest, we purchased two Budapest Cards. These cards cost $53 each and allow us into various museums for free. Poss…

The city of Budapest is split in half by the Danube River. On the west side, you have the area called Buda; on the east side, there is Pest. To…

We drove from Brasov to Bucharest to catch our flight today and it was pretty much like every drive has been in Romania : slow and frustrating! I…

We are making our way across Eastern Europe, and now here we are in Budapest. Amazing, to finally see these countries that were so dark and m…

Another day, another drive to a small Transylvanian town. Driving in Romania has been more of a chore than a fun road-trip adventure. Even the major …

Yesterday I commented on how the Transylvania I have seen has been surprisingly Dracula-free. Well today Steve and I found him alive and well in Br…

Everyone knows of “Transylvania” from Bram Stoker’s horror novel Dracula. In reality, Bram Stoker was an Irishman who never visited Romania…

We learned belatedly of a gargantuan construction project between Sibiu and Brasov and spent FOUR HOURS driving the 140 kilometers (85 miles) betwe…

We are in Transylvania now, after an arduous 5-hour drive from Bucharest. We decided to depart at the height of rush hour (doh!) so it took forever…

We have had a great month in Turkey, but definitely feel the urge to move on to something new.  Next stop: Romania! We passed through Istanbu…

We are in Romania! I have done Western Europe to death, but this side of Europe is new territory for me. I am very excited to be here.I don't have …

We really haven’t strayed far from the hotel since we arrived in Antalya, so today we decided to visit the Old Town and hit a museum or two. Get …

Diving the Mediterranean is nothing at all like diving the Caribbean, or the Red Sea, or anywhere I’ve been for that matter. There is no pesky …

I am sure happy that I found the TB website. I have used it every day, and now I see I have logged over one hundred thousand words for this tr…

DAY EIGHT of the Beaches & Ruins Road Trip: ANTALYA and TERMESSOS. Since our rooms were so expensive and we arrived late last night, we decided…

Just posting a couple shots from our last morning at Hadrian's Hotel in Kas. We fell in love with the owner's dog, Willie. I wanted pack him in…

DAY SEVEN of the Beaches & Ruins Road Trip: KEKOVA SOUND. I thought we’d never get out of Uçagiz. We traveled by car to this small fishing v…

And it's STILL DAY SEVEN of the Beaches & Ruins Road Trip: ANTALYA. After our long day that included two ruined cities, a boat ride, a marathon…

STILL DAY SEVEN of the Beaches & Ruins Road Trip: OLYMPOS. Because of the small “temporary” spare tire on the car, I drove sloooowly (n…

DAY SIX of the Beaches & Ruins Road Trip: KAS. Our first mission of the morning (after breakfast, that is) was to find a boat trip for …

STILL DAY FIVE of the Beaches & Ruins Road Trip: KAS. The last 40km on the road to Kas was by far the most picturesque of the trip so far…

STILL DAY FIVE of the Beaches & Ruins Road Trip: PATARA. Our next stop of the day was Patara...this site combines ancient ruins with a beach …

DAY FIVE of the Beaches & Ruins Road Trip: LETOON. There are three pricing categories that we have found while visiting the ruins in Turk…

DAY FOUR of the Beaches & Ruins Road Trip:DALYANWe stumbled sleepily down to the hotel’s pier at 5:45am and found our boat waiting at the…

DAY THREE of the Beaches & Ruins Road Trip: DALYAN.I am going to cheat here and recount what FODOR’S say about Dalyan, because it is what d…

DAY THREE of the Beaches & Ruins Road Trip: TAVAS.We were searching the roadside for a pide restaurant, and stumbled upon the BEST pide resta…

DAY THREE of the Beaches & Ruins Road Trip: PAMUKKALE.  Hallelujah, we managed to beat most of the tour buses to Pamukkale! We arrived at …

DAY THREE of the Beaches & Ruins Road Trip: A fruit stand with a pile of huge peaches caught my eye as we drove through this small town and I d…

DAY TWO of the Beaches & Ruins Road Trip: DIDYMA.Our drive didn’t follow the coast, but offered us glimpses of the water here and there. It…

DAY TWO of the Beaches & Ruins Road Trip: MILETUSOur second stop of the day was another ancient Greek city called Miletus. The first settlers c…

DAY TWO of the Beaches & Ruins Road Trip. I woke up early and used the wi-fi in the lobby to work on my computer. After awhile, the reception…

DAY TWO of the Beaches & Ruins Road Trip: PAMUKKALE.Our route had us drive back up north, and then east to Pamukkale. The dr…

DAY TWO of the Beaches & Ruins Road Trip : PRIENE Our first stop of the day was Priene, ruins of an ancient Greek city that date back to 350 B.…

DAY TWO of the Beaches & Ruins Road Trip: ALTINKUM.Next we stopped in Altinkum, hoping to find a cool beachside café for lunch. Things weren…

We made the drive from Selcuk to Sirinçe in about 20 minutes, almost all up hill. Sirinçe is a cute little village full of small shops and fruit …

It may seem like we have really seen a lot of Turkey, but we are not done yet! Today was just the beginning of our Grand Finale…a road trip from …

DAY ONE of the Beaches & Ruins Road Trip, IZMIR. Our flight to Izmir was short and sweet, but it took awhile to straighten out our car reservat…

Still DAY ONE of the Beaches & Ruins Road Trip, SELÇUK and EPHESUS. The drive from Izmir to Selcuk was only 80km (50 miles), and well marked.…

In 1853, Sultan Abdul Mecit (later credited with bankrupting the Empire) gave his architect free reign and an unlimited budget to build a structure…

I have wanted to check out Kariye Museum since we arrived in Istanbul, but we’ve put it off because it’s on the Western side of the city and …

When I got up the sky looked big, gray and epic ... soon the rain came, and it decided to stay all day. It zapped our motivation and created the perf…

There is seemingly no end to the number of things to see and do and Istanbul. For the past few days we have explored (and been amazed in) the O…

Mindful of yesterday’s crowds, we determined to get a head start over them and leave earlier today. We exited the apartment at a respectabl…

Yesterday we ran into large numbers of tourists while visiting a variety of Old City sights. I said in my blog that Istanbul was “big enough …

Several days ago I commented on the absence of tourists in Eastern Turkey. Well, we found them. They are all here in Istanbul. Today we (and abou…

Maybe most people race to the Blue Mosque and Topkapi on their first day in Istanbul. Not us. We stay in and do laundry. I woke up in the morning…

We landed in Istanbul at 4:30pm after another flight on dreaded Turkish Air. TA has earned the status of being our least favorite airline thus fa…

We are clearly off the tourist track here in Gaziantep. Our first visit today was to the town’s top attraction, the Gaziantep Museum, and the o…

We drove from Urfa to Gaziantep in good time -- no one else was using the brand new super-duper mega tollway, so we had it almost all to ourselve…

Our drive from Mt. Nemrut to Sanliurfa (which also goes by its old name, Urfa, which is also faster to type) was quick and uneventful. And a…

I woke up many times during the night and felt happy to be in a stone structure. Anything lighter could well have blown away! The wind howled over …

I woke up on my extra-firm twin bed and looked around our baby blue and purple room. It hadn’t improved overnight. I was determined to leave quic…

Otel Kervansaray will not win any design competitions with its baby blue and purple rooms, but despite the fact that I didn't like my ROOM very much,…

At 9:30am we reluctantly left the Museum Hotel and headed out of the fairyland  Cappadocia. It was time to go east, to Mt. Nemrut. Good thin…

Happy Independence Day! Derinkuyu is Cappadocia’s largest excavated underground city, and a portion (about 10%) of it is open to tourists. Today …

Between all the great sights here in Cappadocia, the plentiful hiking trails through these bizarre valleys, and our wonderful hotel… I don’t th…

Today we explored a bit of Turkey’s otherworldly Cappadocia region, and at times I felt I was a visitor on another planet. It was a completely …

My husband and I loved pretty much everything about the Museum Hotel! Cut into the side of a cliff, the hotel and its vistas are absolutely stunning.…

In the afternoon, we drove from Konya to the Cappadocio region of Turkey, an area famous for its crazy (and completely indescribable) rock form…

Today was Day One of a ten-day visit to Central Anatolia, Turkey. We spent the first half of the day in the city of Konya. We didn’t have high ex…

This long day was spent pretty uneventfully, just getting from Point A (Tel Aviv) to Point B (Konya, Turkey), with a layover in Istanbul. It …

Tel Aviv is a completely different city when it’s not resting for the Shabat. We should have retraced our entire route from yesterday, but we wer…

Anyone planning a three-day trip to Israel would do well to ensure none of those days fall over the Shabat. Unfortunately for us, our travels t…

The day was spent getting to Israel. The first requirement was to drive through Jordan from Aqaba to Amman. We took the Desert Highway, considered …

This morning we ate breakfast at the Movenpick’s fantastic buffet, then headed over to Dive Aqaba, just down the street. We had booked ourselve…

In the afternoon we drove from Petra to Aqaba and experienced none of our usual directional difficulties. We even found our hotel, The Golden Tul…

Guidebooks, magazine articles, and other tourists wax on and on about Petra. “If you only go to one place in Jordan, it had better be Petra…�…

We bid a fond farewell to the Amman Intercontinental today and set off on the “scenic route” to Petra. There are several routes we could have f…

We have had some problems navigating this city, but we’ve had some success as well (we found the Dead Sea, after all). Today we had pretty high…

Most of today was spent in the car, staring out the window and wondering where the hell we were. We never quite figured it out, either! There is a …

Today we pointed our rental car North, to the ancient Roman city of Jerash. Jerash is so incredibly well preserved, and so expansive, that if you…

A person standing on the shore of the Dead Sea could say he had hit a new low. The shore is 400m (1310ft) below sea level -- the lowe…

I got up at 2am after three hours of uncomfortable tossing and turning. General muscle soreness and a stiff neck had joined my stomach pains to creat…

Amman is a city built on 19 hills. Today, it seems we climbed each and every one of them. And at no point did we have any idea where we were! But…

On our way to Amman, Jordan, we had a 3-hour layover in Manama, Bahrain. Before this trip I had never even heard of this country! In their English-la…

During our early morning cab-ride to the airport, the lady on the radio reported the the temperature would be around 41ºC (106ºF) today. Whoa! Da…

The Amman airport was far less glitzy than where we had just come from (Dubai). I expected to see hotel shuttle buses, but it seemed that taxi was …

Our Dubai adventure for the day was to cross the Dubai Creek and explore the Deira neighborhood, where Dubai’s large Gold Souk (shopping area…

Over the course of last evening, I do believe that aliens attempted to invade my body. I have no other explanation for the goings-on in there…

Despite an early morning arrival in Dubai, I woke up early and just couldn’t get back to sleep. It seemed TravBuddy was calling out to me, so I…

It was exactly 20 years ago today that my best friend Lisa and I set off on a PanAm jet that would take us to the bright lights of New York, …

It was our last day in India, but our flight wasn’t until 6pm, so we decided to visit  another sight here in Agra. The official name is Itmad…

I got up at 5:30am and was dismayed to see it was already light out. We had hoped to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise! Turns out there really isn’t m…

We arrived at our hotel, Oberoi Amarvilas, well after midnight. Though we were tired and disgruntled after 14 hours on buses and airplanes, and i…

Our main mission for the morning was simply to get from the Cindrella Hotel in Siliguri to the airport in Bagdogra, about 10 miles away. This was e…

Our flight from Bagdogra to Delhi wasn't too pleasant, but at least it was quick (2 hours).  I read my book and chatted with my Canadi…

We find ourselves in Siliguri after an impromptu drive from Darjeeling. Due to a hastily called strike and very little notice, there was a MASS…

This morning was supposed to be a sunrise viewing of the mountains from Tiger Hill. But the man who arranges these things at the hotel said to not …

The adventure du jour was a trip to Mirik Lake. We met our driver (another Nepalese guy with good English and good sense of humor) at 9am and off…

We departed Nor-Khill hotel in Gangtok at 8am for the reportedly 5-hour drive to Darjeeling (I guess we made good time because it really took us …

I normally prefer the DIY version of travel, but Sikkim, India seemed like one big difficult mystery, with special permit requirements, long drives…

Things really started looking up today. First off, when we woke up there was some sun and a bit of a small mountain visible out our window! OK, it …

Fodor’s travel guide says, “Pelling is a tiny provincial town with just one sight -- Mt. Kanchenjunga. People flock here to view the grand peak…

We were rudely awakened at 4:00am by four men having a very loud conversation in the hall outside our door. It went on and on. I finally we…

It was a rainy, foggy morning, but we held out hope that the day would clear so we could do some proper sightseeing. After a tasty breakfast served…

We were welcomed to Sikkim by a large gate and several military personnel. Sikkim is a border state (bordering Nepal, China, Tibet, and Bhutan) and a…

We choose to visit the Indian state of Sikkim for a couple reasons: 1) moderate temperatures…it’s broiling hot elsewhere in India, and I read the…

We landed in Calcutta and had to gather our bags and pass through customs. It took forever for the bags to come out (we should have carried them on l…

Today’s mission was to visit the Chatuchak Weekend Market, a place where 8,000 or 15,000 vendors (depending on if you believe Fodor’s or Lonely P…

Steve let it be known today that he wouldn’t be too disappointed if he never saw another temple again. Since I visited Bangkok’s ancient sights…

For the first time in three days, the students in the restaurant got our breakfast order right, and the food was actually hot. And now that they ha…

I have been studiously avoiding Bangkok on this trip. We managed to avoid it even as we were traveling to Phuket and to Chiang Mai. The reason is t…

On our first night in Cambodia, Steve and I were out shopping for t-shirts, and found some printed with a skull and crossbones design that read, �…

Of course, the reason we came to Siem Reap is to see Angkor Wat. Not just one temple, it’s an entire complex of structures (about 300 monum…

The Shinta Mani is a hotel and an institute that trains "at risk youth" for work in the hospitality industry. So your dollars are going to a good cau…

This morning when we were checking out of the Grand Luang Prabang, the clerk informed me that we owed $4 for the glass we broke on our first day.…

1) It's damn hot here. 2) Siem Reap is built up with fancy (and not-so-fancy) hotels and restaurants. I doubt it is representative of Cambodia as…

Here it is already: our last day. Too soon! If we didn’t have paper tickets for a flight tomorrow morning, I would arrange to stay longer. Stev…

It seems to me the monks in LP are a bit more open and modern than the ones I have seen elsewhere. Although most of the monks are shy and reticent,…

Today we kayaked down the Nam Kahn River. Banish any thoughts of white water thrills -- it was a slow day for the Nam Kahn, similar to paddling on …

Green! Judging by our flight over northern Laos today, the country is populated by: trees. And: more trees. Beautiful! We landed at Luang Prabang a…

Doi Inthanon National Park, 90 km southwest of Chiang Mai, is home to numerous waterfalls, hiking trails, and the highest point in Thailand. Our pl…

The lazy blog: bullet points. 1) Spent the morning researching accommodations since I have nothing planned beyond Chiang Mai and we were supposed…

Today we hired a car and a very nice driver to take us to a few sights around the outskirts of Chiang Mai. (We considered renting a car on our ow…

In 1988, the Thai government, in a belated move to save what forests remained in the country, banned all logging in Thailand. While this wa…

Traditional Thai Massage is more than just a good rub. It involves poking, prodding, twisting, and stretching, too. Steve and I finally experienced…

We departed our lovely, wonderful, gorgeous apartment today at 5am, to catch a plane to Bangkok and then on to Chiang Mai. I think our home is only…

Bear with me as I poke fun at the overtly aggressive selling efforts of the tailors on Phuket. No matter we went in Phuket, someone tri…

Is it possible to actually DIE from eating really spicy food?! There was a moment, while eating my Spicy Green Papaya Salad at Thai Food Restaurant, …

Today we took one of those huge group tours to “James Bond Island,” so named because it was a 1974 filming sight in the Bond movie, The Man w…

We seem to be hitting a lot of aquariums on this trip. In Osaka, we went because we really wanted to see a whale shark. In Kuala Lumpur, we went be…

I moped around the apartment this morning, still feeling sorry for myself for having been robbed yesterday. Here’s the deal: it just doesn’…

The day seemed to be going so well. We had driven down to the southernmost point of Phuket -- Promthrep Cape -- to have a look around. The scenery …

Morning (and sunshine!) came to Phi Phi island at 6:30, and Steve and I met the group for the buffet breakfast served at the Bay View r…

Today Steve and I traveled by boat from Phuket to the Phi Phi islands, stopping along the way for diving. Everything was bleak and gray both …

So many errands today.   Swapped the Vomit Car for a less odiferous Honda Jazz. The car guy wasn’t wearing his gun or uniform today. …

I’d make a lousy photojournalist. If I were cut out for it, I’d certainly have more photos of our spectacular day. We drove through tin…

Today we planned a mini-road trip here on Phuket to see if we can escape the rampant tourism. What a nice surprise we had … who would have be…

Happy birthday, Mom!Happy to report the van didn’t forget us today, and at 8:00 am we were on the road to Chalong Bay, where the dive boa…

We were finally able to rent a car today… freedom! Well, a kind of freedom anyway. The car can’t be taken off the island, so we are still trapp…

I was excited to start my day since DIVING was on the day’s docket. Yippee! Today will be the first dive of this RTW trip. At 7:55, we were ready…

Woke early this morning to the sounds of a tropical bird feud. I was disoriented and thought I was hearing was the TV or a radio… Ooooo, yeah. Th…

We woke up at 5am to get packed up and put our gear in order for the flight to Thailand. It's not like we have been buying lots of stuff along th…

I had a few touristy things on the list for today, but once again, we had trouble leaving the hotel (we had breakfast, lunch, and dinner there, dam…

Our hotel bathroom is outfitted with a scale (now why would they do that?). I got on it for a status check (now why would I do that?), and St…

All along I have been complaining about how the Beijing cabbies never bring us exactly where we want to go. Especially at the tourist sights, they ju…

It's our last day in China. I spent the morning acting as travel agent, researching future accommodation options, checking flights, and day-dre…

Jingsi Su Shifang vegetarian restaurant is well off the beaten path in Beijing. Located in the Dongcheng district, it is in a quiet neighborhood with…

Lisa had intended to leave today, but when she called to confirm she found her seat hadn't been upgraded as expected. Excellent! She was able t…

I woke up today in my cramped little sleeper car bed feeling like I had just spent the night at a Sofitel. I was completely out for a full …

Woke up in my sleeper cabin this morning feeling less than refreshed. During the night my three room mates were snoring inhar…

Today's plan was to meet Phil (TB: Deats) and Julia (TB: Mybu84) for a trip to the Great Wall. Finally I get to see it live and in person! …

Steve had work to do, so Lisa and I decided to go out and check some sights off our list. Together, we can cover serious ground...Look out,…

News flash: Today at approximately 11:00am -- mere minutes after Steve had purchased a new rain jacket at Columbia, and Charlene and…

Sunday. It's raining. Good. This city needs a good washing. Still feeling sick (although my swollen eyelid seems better, TG), so I decided to take a…

Woke up this morning feeling more congested than usual. I have felt worse each day here -- I think my body is losing the fight ag…

This morning, Lisa fit right into our typical routine of caffeine and computing. She read up on our intended site for the day w…

I'm now becoming quite an expert at Chinese cab usage. There's a trick to it, considering the language barrier. The driver's person…

Today we went to the Temple of Heaven. Now, doesn't that sound nice? But first in the morning we tried to use our Bally's Fitness members…

The goal for the day was not too lofty: we just want to get a feel for our neighborhood. Hopefully it's not as bleak as it seems from our rat…

Today we traveled from Seoul to Beijing on Asiana Airlines. The flight itself was about 1:40, but we spent so much time waiting for clearance o…

The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a 2-1/2 mile wide strip of land, barren of humans and machines, that serves as a buffer be…

Steve and I had a huge day in Seoul today. Enormous! We both woke early and enjoyed a gourmet breakfast of French bread and peanut butt…

I found a listing for Sanchon in our Seoul pocket guide, and some online research turned up several positive reviews, so Steve and I thought we'd giv…

Yesterday we traveled from Osaka to Seoul. Transit days are generally not all that much fun, with a lot of sitting and waiting arou…

Kind of early in the trip for this, but I am experiencing a little "blog burnout." Today I vow not to ramble. This will be a short one. Reall…

Hanabishi was recommended to me at the tourist information office as a good place to get Shojin Ryori, which is a multi-course vegetarian meal that u…

Oh, happy, happy day. OK, I will tell you all about it. Woke up early -- before 6 -- in anticipation of an early departure to today…

I found Maman Terrace on the Happycow.net website. It had some good reviews so I thought I'd check it out. The lower level is a store selling nat…

The Pig and Whistle is on the second floor, and we climbed the stairs to find a "no smoking sign" prominently displayed. Excellent! How rare for Japa…

Today was the last day on my Do! fitness membership, so I had a good final workout. Then, a rush back to the room to get ready for …

Dang, the forecast was correct. Woke up to leaden skies and rain, rain, rain. In no rush to get wet, we killed time in the room until hun…

Today's daytrip destination was Nara. Nara has several things to recommend it, but foremost for us: it's not Kyoto!Nara is another of Japan's his…

A few days ago we went to Kyoto and reported on the crowds and traffic. It was crazy busy. Well, turns out that was nothing. That was a weekday. …

Sampling the delicious Japanese food has been fun and all, but there has been a decided lack of fresh vegetables, fruit, and whole grains on our pl…

Finally, some warmth and sunshine - WONDERFUL! I was happy to shed that fleece for once.Today's first mission: secure our visas for India.…

Today's plan was to do some leisurely strolls in Osaka and to reel in a bit on the sight seeing (which Steve now refers to as "forced marches."…

This morning Steve had a good time using his Japanese at the bake shop across the street ("Excuse me, this one please, thank you." Sounds easy, b…

Cafe Proverbs is a sunny all-vegan cafe in East Kyoto, within walking distance (about 10 minutes) of Ginkaku-ji temple. I started with a small g…

Yesterday I mentioned that Steve and I had decided to join a health club. More on that now. We learned that Do! (Fitness club) was runn…

Okonomiyaki is an Osakan specialty, and I do believe we would be committing some sort of crime if we were to leave without sampling it at least once.…

It is every diver's dream to meet up with a whale shark out in the deep blue. That hasn't happened for me (yet), but at least I…

This morning on CNN it was mentioned that the cherry blossoms are in full glory in Washington D.C.  A little more research taught me that …

Steve and I were walking along Dotombori-dori on Sunday night, stomaches empty, desperate for food. We noticed some places were closing up so we jump…

This morning we had the breakfast buffet at our hotel (Namba Oriental), which seemed like a pretty good value for about $10. I love the Jap…

We left Chicago on Wednesday night and reappeared here in Osaka on Friday morning, bleary eyed and jet lagged. Whoever said "it's…

Namba Oriental has a fantastic location in the heart of the shopping/food/nightlife of the south side of town, or Minami area. Reading about this in …

The departure day has finally arrived!  And we are ... ready.  Really. Amazing, but true. Passports have been updated, extra photos stowe…

Today Steve and I picked up Malarone for our RTW trip. $1240! What the ... !!! I mistakenly believed that Malarone costs $1 per day ... it's was…

Something of a small miracle today. I had carefully selected all of the items I wish to carry with me on my trip around the world. It had requi…

Today Steve and I went to the travel clinic at Northwest Memorial hospital (here in Chicago) for the immunizations needed on our trip around the …

Having a good idea of where we want to go on our round the world trip, we must now answer the question of how to get there. Yes, of course, b…

My husband Steve and I have decided to do this crazy thing, this trip around the world. I brought up the idea one day (because …