Being a human being in Istanbul
Blue Mosque Under Spirograph Skies, Istanbul, Turkey | Art by Todd Berman I think we’ve been traveling too long. Todd and I have gotten too used it being just us two. It’s our last morning at our hostel in Istanbul…
Wild Ramazan nights in Istanbul
Prayer at the Blue Mosque, Istanbul | Photo by Lauren Girardin Todd and I were worried because our first days in Turkey would coincide with the last days of the Muslim holy month, Ramazan (also called Ramadan). We’ve been warned…
Je suis libre!
Behind the Eiffel Tower, Paris | Photo by Lauren Girardin Claude Wainstain is a sneaky man. He not only captivated me and Todd with his passionate storytelling, he had his wife Jacqueline hold us captive with a homemade dinner followed…
Sundays and sausage in Paris
Postcard: Eiffel Tower sunset from St. Mande, Paris | Art by Todd Berman We spend our first day in Paris brain dead in the spectacular St. Mande home of Claude and Jacqueline, long-time friends of Todd’s parents, grazing on a…
What started with cheese ends with pink cava in Barcelona
Cava slinging bartender, Barcelona, Spain | Photo by Lauren Girardin I won’t look up. I can’t look up. If I do I’ll get cava in my eye. Glass after glass of the rock-bottom cheap and disturbingly pink-hued bubbly is being…
Sometimes the best art is free – Spain and Portugal’s street art
Street art in Lisbon, Portugal | Photo by Lauren Girardin Spray paint sales are doing well on the Iberian peninsula. At night, artists and hooligans make their marks all over the walls of Spain and Portugal. Our guidebooks told us…
Roadblocks of tourists and cows in Catalonia
Dali Museum, Figures, Spain | Photo by Lauren Girardin After we say farewell to the Baron and Baroness, Todd and I skip out of Barcelona for a side trip through Catalonia, Spain. Mainly, we’re indulging our artsy-fartsy side by wallowing…
Surviving a German whirlwind in Barcelona
Postcard: El Xampanyet, Barcelona, Spain | Art by Todd Berman We’ve settled in so well in Spain that in Barcelona, we’re briefly mistaken for locals by a German tourist, Reinhard, when we help him order “siete cervezas” for himself and…
Sharing everything four ways
Todd with pintxo | Photo by Lauren Girardin Todd and I spend our last day in Donostia-San Sebastián with the Baron and Baroness hiking Monte Urgull and making DIY picnic pintxos from bread, jamón, romesco sauce, and queso while sheltering…
Derailed on the way to San Sebastián
Postcard: La Concha beach in San Sebastian | Art by Todd Berman Some of the most interesting travel writing spring from disasters, misadventures, or simply the unexpected. Luckily for me and Todd, when friends join us on the global road,…