I look forward to weekend getaways as much as multi-week international trips, and have had the Saugatuck area on my radar for some time. Just about 2.5 hours from Chicago, it’s perfect for a quick escape. We planned our weekend around Holland’s Tulip Time Festival, …

Paris is my favorite city, and during this trip I was able explore beyond the most famous landmarks and spend some time savoring those sites which do not necessarily come to mind when one first thinks of Paris. One can’t visit Paris and miss the …

Kenmare is a lovely town, ideally situated between the Rings of Kerry and Beara. It’s outside the hustle and bustle of Killarney, but still has plenty of shops, restaurants and pubs. We rented a wonderful house a mile or two outside of town, called Dunkerron …

Ireland’s southern coastline is known for three peninsular drives- Kerry, Beara and Dingle. The Ring of Kerry is beautiful, but seemingly the most popular with tours. Read about it here. Dingle has a reputation as the wildest. The Ring of Beara, alternatively, is rugged and …

As I mentioned previously, I’ve broken my second trip to Ireland into several posts by location. So, I’ll start where I started upon arrival to Dublin Airport. For reasons obvious, Dublin is much busier than the Shannon airport, with customs lines befitting a major city. …

I had barely written my Paris trip summary and the terrible news of Notre Dame’s fire came out. While I’m relieved the damage wasn’t worse, it saddens me that Paris has taken another blow, and a world heritage site has been forever altered. In solidarity …

At last, the final leg of the journey! I hope you will read all three parts of this trip, for an idea what you can cram in 11 days!  Part I Ireland at Lightspeed: Arrival in Shannon, Adare, Killarney Part II Ireland at Lightspeed: Blarney, …

The journey through Ireland at lightspeed continued from Killarney onto Cahir, Cashel and Kilkenny. Day 3- Blarney to Cahir to Kilkenny  Blarney After our Torc Falls adventure, we picked up the rest of the crew at the B&B and drove towards Blarney Castle, in Blarney, Co. Cork. …

Since we moved in, we’ve been debating the best options to maximize our dining space. It’s rather small, and our dining set from the apartment fit (miraculously) but only accommodated four people.  We looked at a few dining plans online, but none quite suited our space, desired …

Puerto Rico offers much to see, and allows for a quick and easy Caribbean getaway. For US citizens, there is no passport control, and it’s just a couple hour flight from Florida. A weekend in Puerto Rico is perfect! My friend and I planned a …