December 8-11 As soon as we got off the plane in Singapore, we knew we were in for a whole new experience. We had such a lovely, relaxing week in Samui, it was easy to forget the little things that come from time in many southeast Asian countries--undrinkable tap water, gasoline for motorbikes being sold in reused alcohol bottles, can't flush toilet paper down the toilet, etc. But even though Singapore is only a couple of hours away, it is seriously a whole different world. I

December 1-8 We were ready for a break. I hate to burst the bubble, but 3 straight months of traveling isn't always glamorous. The constant adjusting, figuring out new languages and cultures, determining where to stay next, figuring out where the heck to get your next meal--it's a lot. This trip has been such an incredible adventure, AND we are tired. So we decided to take a break from traveling and just take a vacation for a bit. If you are unfamiliar, the islands in Thailan

November 27-30 Thailand is amazing. Since the start of this trip, Cal and I have had a few places that we just knew, right from the first step, that we would love. Krakow was one, Bordeaux was another, and Bangkok was the same. Even with the annoyances we experienced getting from the airport (which I noted in my last post), there was instantly an energy and attitude that made us feel welcomed and excited for our time here. It is also, quite frankly, nice to be in a place wher

November 24-27 We weren't planning on going to Athens on this trip. We had visited the last time we were traveling together, back in 2016, and we loved it then, but didn't think it was in the cards this time around. That is, until we figured out that any trip from Morocco (where we didn't want to be) to Thailand (where we wanted to go) was going to include a long layover somewhere in the Mediterranean, and the timing just worked out to make our way back to Greece. So we exten

November 19-24 Toto, we're not in Europe anymore. As we flew into "the red city," Calvin looked out the window and proclaimed, "I've never seen anything like this before." The uniformly terracotta color of the buildings, the flat, open roofs meant for sitting and taking a meal, the constant rev of motorbikes...everything about this city is new and unfamiliar the second we emerged from the airport. This is by far the furthest we have been outside our comfort zone, and we have

November 15-19 Our final stop in Europe is Amsterdam, a city both Cal and I have wanted to visit for a long time. When we were in Bordeaux, our lovely host Bonnie even commented, "You two look like Amsterdam people," which we took as a compliment. Amsterdam is famous for its welcoming of debauchery, but it is also an incredibly beautiful city with amazing things to see beyond the Red Light District (though of course we had to pay a visit there as well for the full experience)

November 13-15 Those of you who are following our itinerary closely might be wondering why we are back in Germany. Our journey has taken a strangely circuitous route, but for good reason. We had the opportunity to see my dear friend--Ella Kim--perform as a part of the DanceWorks Chicago Company, and we couldn't pass that up! We had this trip back to Deutschland in the plans for a while, but didn't know we would be journeying back north from Italy until last week, when we deci

November 9-13 Rome is my favorite of the cities we have visited so far. I had given up on the idea that we were going to make it to Italy on this trip. The route we were planning and the Trusted Housesitters gigs we had booked weren't taking us south, and I had this idea in my head that we should only visit Italy during the summer (so glad I didn't follow this instinct). But when we found 25€ plane tickets from Bordeaux to Rome, we knew we had to go. Before we get too far int

November 2-8 After Paris, we were excited to be somewhere a little smaller, a little quieter, and a little more chill--Bordeaux was absolutely perfect. We had booked our cat sit here months ago and didn't know what to expect. We had no idea how much we would love the city. We arrived in Bordeaux on Sunday night, but did not start our cat sit until Tuesday, so we were in a hotel for a couple of nights. After Paris, we were very excited to have a clean, comfortable place to sle

October 25-November 2 Bonjour! Before reading about our adventures in gay Paris, I thought a soundtrack may be helpful to set the scene. If you are a child of the 90s like me (or the parent of a child of the 90s, like I know many of you reading this are), you might understand why this song was stuck in my head all week. However, if you want something a bit more classic, you can't go wrong with dear Edith Piaf. Ok, now that we've set the scene... Paris is the quintessential Eu

October 19-24 Our journey to Belgium was our longest travel day yet. We woke up early in Berlin, said goodbye to Norman and Banana, and took the UBahn to the Hauptbahnhof just in time to see our scheduled 8:55 train was cancelled. This was the first time we've run into a travel problem like this, so we counted ourselves lucky and headed to the information desk to see what our options were. The kind woman at the desk said she could just transfer our tickets to the next train,

October 16-19 We got off our bus from Prague just as it was getting dark in Berlin. As we walked into the train station, I was relieved to find myself stumbling through German again--I could understand the signs! I could read the UBahn map! We were able to easily find the train we needed to take us to the lock box to pick up the key to the apartment where we were staying, which was conveniently just one more stop away on the train. Thanks to a thorough photo-guide from our Tr