I’m sure I’ve mentioned in previous posts that I am a huge Art History nerd. It was my favorite class in high school and my major in college. I’ve taken several classes on Classical Greek art and architecture so I’d seen photos of Delphi and it’s many treasures. But seeing it in person still surpassed all my expectations. The Sanctuary of Apollo The Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi was the center of ancient Greek religious life for hundreds of years….
I’m going to be honest: Dan and I didn’t really like Bali. Partly this was our own fault. When we were planning the last part of our Asia itinerary it seemed like a great idea to finish with some relaxing beach time. In our minds Bali conjured images of sublime natural beauty and calm tropical beaches with bathtub-warm water. Unfortunately, we didn’t bother to do enough research to confirm whether that image was accurate. So imagine our disappointment when we…
Coimbra After Porto we started to make our way south through Portugal. Our first stop was the medieval town of Coimbra, famous as the site of Portugal’s oldest university. School was not in session when we were there so, like many university towns in summer, Coimbra felt a little quiet. We still enjoyed exploring the winding streets and learning a little about it’s history. The Old Cathedral (exterior visible above) is a Romanesque, fortress-like building but it contains a beautiful…
First of all, my apologies for anyone who is getting confused as I do these posts out of order. I’m really trying to get all caught up on Asia so I can focus on Europe but I still have three posts to go including this one. To recap: from Singapore we flew to Jakarta and from there we took a breathtakingly beautiful train ride across Java to Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta is an awesome little city. After the chaos and grit of…
Chiang Dao Dan and I arrived in Chiang Mai about a week before our friends were scheduled to meet us. That amount of time, combined with the three days we would overlap with them there, seemed like a little long to spend in a city we’d already been to. We did some research and decided that the nearby mountain getaway of Chiang Dao would be a good break from the city for a couple of days. We hopped on the…
Back in 2014 Dan and I took our first big trip together. We spent two weeks exploring Thailand, spending a hectic day in Bangkok followed by almost a week in Chiang Mai and then a week on an island beach. We had been dating for a few years and things were getting serious. Although we weren’t living together yet, we were starting to broach the subject of maybe moving in together. At that point we had never spent more than…
Kampot is a sleepy little town on the Preaek Tuek Chhu River, near Cambodia’s southern coast. As soon as we pulled in to town I knew that I was going to like Kampot. With it’s wide promenade along the river, brightly colored shop house architecture and cute little cafes and restaurants sprinkled throughout, it is just the type of place Dan and I gravitate towards. We had been moving around every few days while Megan and Varshan were traveling with…
Get ready for a lot of pictures, folks! Those of you who know me well know that ancient architecture is kind of my thing. I have been known to jump up and down like little kid in front of renaissance churches and get teary eyed gazing up at vaulted ceilings. I love old buildings and they are probably my favorite thing to photograph. Therefore, visiting Angkor Wat and the other temples of Angkor was pretty much a dream-come-true for me….