Where you go, you are

#WYGYA

Destinations

Places we have visited and have real things to share.

Photograph taken in Europe

Europe

Belgium

Brussels

Czech Republic

Prague

Denmark

Copenhagen

France

Cannes Normandy Paris Provence

Germany

Berlin

Ireland

Cork Dublin Galway

Italy 1 story

Florence Naples Pisa Rome Sardinia

Netherlands

Amsterdam

Poland

Krakow

Portugal 5 stories

Algarve Aveiro Azores Cascais Coimbra Lisbon Porto Sintra

Spain

Barcelona

Switzerland

Lucerne

United Kingdom 1 story

Liverpool London Oxford
Photograph taken in North America

North America

Canada 2 stories

Montreal Ottawa Toronto Vancouver Victoria Whistler

Mexico 1 story

USA 3 stories

Alaska California Colorado Florida Hawaii Midwest Oregon Washington
Photograph taken in Asia

Asia

China

Beijing Chengdu Guilin Hong Kong Shanghai Suzhou Off the Beaten Path

Japan 3 stories

Hakone Hiroshima Kyoto Kyushu Miyajima Nara Osaka Tokyo Yufuin
Photograph taken in Central America

Central America

Belize

Costa Rica

Guatemala

Photograph taken in South America

South America
Photograph taken in Australia

Oceania

Australia

Melbourne Sydney
Photograph taken in Africa

Africa

Thoughts and More

Thoughts 6 stories

All stories

The triumphal arch at Blenheim Palace seen from below, its tall gilded iron gates standing open with the clock tower of the Great Court framed in the opening

United Kingdom

Oxford and Blenheim Palace: Two Day Trips on One Line Out of London

Both are about an hour from Paddington and eight miles from each other. How to do one properly, or both in a long day, without a car or a coach tour.
Photo coming soon

Mexico

San Jose del Cabo: The Quiet Half of Los Cabos

Two towns share the municipality and people mix them up constantly. One has the nightlife and the cruise ships. The other has the old town, the galleries and the farm restaurants.
A carved stone archway in Bracciano framing the round tower of Castello Orsini-Odescalchi, with a stone paved lane and clipped hedges leading up to the castle entrance

Italy

Two Day Trips from Rome: Bracciano for the Lake, Tivoli for the Gardens

Rome wears you out. Bracciano is an hour away on a regional train and has a castle and a lake clean enough to swim in. Tivoli has the fountains. How to do either without a car.
Three stacked rolls wrapped in pale pink, drizzled with a green herb sauce and scattered with small white puffed pearls and coral flower petals, on a dark ceramic plate with more of the sauce poured across it

Canada

Montreal's Vegan Sushi Is Doing Something the Fish Places Are Not

Ohana, Sushi Momo and Bloom make sushi with no fish in it at all, and it is not an imitation of the real thing. Why removing the fish made the food more interesting.
A box of gluten free bakes from Blue Moon Bakery: a glazed doughnut topped with bacon, a hand pie, a lemon bar and an apple fritter

Thoughts

Gluten Free Travel: Staying Safe and Fed on the Road

Eating safely with celiac disease while travelling: why an air fryer beats a toaster on a road trip, how to say gluten free in eleven languages, and what to carry for when it goes wrong.
The Teton range lit pink at first light above Jackson Lake, with boats moored off a wooden dock

USA

Two Nights in Yellowstone and Grand Teton: What We Actually Saw

Two nights is not long for Yellowstone. What we managed, what we would do differently, and why the hours around sunrise and sunset are worth the alarm.
Magenta pigeon sculptures strung on wires across the weathered facade of an old LX Factory building

Portugal

LX Factory, Lisbon: What to See in the Old Textile Complex

A 19th century factory in Alcantara now holding 50 shops, restaurants and one of the world's most beautiful bookshops. What to see, and when to go.
Inside a Yayoi Kusama infinity mirror room, hundreds of coloured lights repeating away in every direction

Japan

Renowned Modern Japanese Artists:

Kusama, Murakami and the other modern Japanese artists worth knowing before you travel, and where you can see their work in Japan and beyond.
A junk art musician with a flowerpot head sprouting grass, playing guitar at a microphone in front of a white cottage and pumpkin patch

USA

Florence Avenue in Sebastopol California

One street in Sebastopol, California is lined with junk art sculptures by Patrick Amiot. What to look for, and where to park when you go.
An open suitcase packed with folded clothes, a water bottle and a wooden comb, laid out beside leather boots, sunglasses, a watch and a phone on a brown blanket

Thoughts

My Favorite Travel Essentials

The best travel essentials that will simply make your travels and flights better!
A black and white cat resting on a low wall above the bright green tea terraces of Cha Gorreana on Sao Miguel

Portugal

Cha Gorreana: Europe's Oldest Tea Plantation, in the Azores

Gorreana has grown tea on São Miguel since 1883. Entry and tastings are free. How to get there from Ponta Delgada, when to go, and what to expect.
Waves breaking against the black volcanic rock and cliffs of Ponta da Ferraria on Sao Miguel in the Azores

Portugal

Ponta da Ferraria: The Azores Hot Spring Only Open at Low Tide

A geothermal spring on São Miguel's west coast where the Atlantic runs warm enough to swim in. Go within two hours of low tide, and bring water shoes.
An envelope on a wooden table with Wherever you go, there you are written across it by hand, next to a Portuguese stamp of Algarve citrus and an open book

Thoughts

Wherever You Go, There You Are (WYGYA)

Wherever you go, there you are. What the phrase means for travel, and why changing your surroundings does not change who arrives.
Shoppers browsing stalls piled with peppers and strawberries beneath a hand painted farm sign at a Montreal market

Canada

The Best Farmers Markets in Montreal: Which One to Visit

Jean-Talon in summer, Atwater in winter. Hours, metro stops and what to eat at Montreal's five public markets, plus which to pick if you only have time for one.
Holding a whole orange pressed into fresh juice with a straw at a street stand in Yufuin, Kyushu

Japan

Why you should visit Kyushu: Japan’s southernmost island

Mount Aso, natural hot springs, Kumamoto Castle and the low-key art town of Yufuin. Why Japan's southernmost island deserves more of your trip.
The painted prow of a moliceiro boat on the Aveiro canal, decorated with red and yellow flowers and a folk scene

Portugal

Aveiro's Moliceiro Boats: Portugal's Painted Canal Boats

Aveiro sits on Portugal's Atlantic coast, where painted moliceiro boats still work the canals. Their history, the love ribbons, and how to ride one.
A flat lay on white painted wood with a striped linen towel, halved lemons, sprigs of thyme and small bowls of lavender and salt

Thoughts

Morning Rituals: Creating Meaning in Your Day

How you spend the first thirty minutes sets the tone for the day. The small morning rituals that survive travel, jet lag and hotel rooms.
Plastic free bathroom items laid out on marble, including bamboo toothbrushes, wooden brushes, a safety razor and reusable cotton rounds

Thoughts

Sustainable Home Care: Choosing a Greener Lifestyle

Swapping single-use for refillable at home and on the road. The products that actually last, and the travel habits worth changing first.
A hand holding an iPhone with a Pasmo card in Apple Wallet, tapping it against a Japanese ticket gate reader

Japan

Pasmo in Japan: How to Use an IC Card for Trains and Shops

How Japan's IC cards work, why Pasmo and Suica are interchangeable nationwide, and how to load one into Apple Wallet with a credit card instead of cash.
A carved stone relief of three figures on the graffiti covered concrete facade of the abandoned Panoramico de Monsanto

Portugal

Panorâmico de Monsanto: Street Art in Lisbon, Portugal

An abandoned 1960s restaurant above Lisbon, now a Brutalist shell covered in street art. What is inside, and how to find your way there.
Tall dried mullein stalks in the foreground with the tan spires of Smith Rock and a snow capped peak beyond

USA

Smith Rock: Oregon's Hidden Desert

Oregon's high desert hides towering rock spires, the Misery Ridge trail and the birthplace of American sport climbing. When to go and what to see.
A quiet bedroom corner with a black leather butterfly chair, a round mirror on a leather strap and a window looking out to a green hillside

Thoughts

What Does Home Mean to You? Redefining what home is.

Home might be four walls, or a person, a meal, a song. A slow traveler's take on what actually makes a place start to feel like home.