Trips

Since I arrived in Split six hours before the start of the group tour orientation meeting, I explored the old town on my own. Split is the second largest city in Croatia. The hotel location was perfect, right on the edge of the old area of town that was a retired Roman emperor’s palace (from […]

The long layover When I booked my outbound flight, I knew I had a long layover at Helsinki. Rather than spend 7 hours at the airport, I had made plans to take the 30-minute train that goes from the airport into central Helsinki. For me, walking and staying active is the best way to fight […]

How it came together Cindy and I had discussed a possible trip to Croatia in fall 2023 as our next big trip. As we watched travel videos of people navigating steep hills and many stairs in Dubrovnik and Split, it became clear that Cindy’s knee was not yet ready for a physically demanding trip like […]

The last stop on our trip: Two nights in The Hague, three nights in Amsterdam, and the last night at an Amsterdam airport hotel. Our flight at 12 noon on Friday from Bilbao to Amsterdam was in KLM business class, using miles. For flights within Europe, most airlines, including KLM, use the same 3×3 seating […]

After what will be nine nights in one place, we are flying to Amsterdam tomorrow out of Bilbao, Spain. We’ve learned a lot here. It has really been worth the stay. Those tiny specks on the beach are people. This country is vertical. But it’s prized for it’s outdoor trails and beaches as well as […]

Tom was entirely responsible for this one. “It will be great,” he said. “It is elegant,” he said. “It will be relaxing.” Oh wow was he right. (Screenshot that. You know why.) The rental car pickup from Porto turned out not to be from the airport as I last mentioned but from the business district. […]