Hello Reader, The mini festival in our Valencia neighborhood featured processions in traditional dress. 🧭 Where in the World? Greetings from Valencia, where our street just threw a party for the whole neighborhood (details below). We arrived after almost two weeks in Sicily, where we took a course on Palermo’s history (more on that below, too) and visited touchstones of 3,000 years of Sicilian civilization. Now we're two weeks into a two-month stay in one of the most livable cities in the...
2 days ago • 4 min read
Hello Reader, 🧭 Where in the World? We are en route, happily suspended between the first signs of Fall in Minnesota and new learning experiences in Palermo, Italy. Elective Study Abroad has primed us with some reading and movies to prepare for our course in Palermo, so we’re loaded up with downloads for the journey. ✏️ Our Latest Posts Our trip to Sicily and Spain prompted Tom to (again) go over his ultralight packing list and make some updates. Nothing like a two-month trip to make you...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Hello Reader, One of the spectacular mosaics at the Villa Romana del Casale in Sicily. 🧭 Where in the World? We’re off to see the wizard, which is to say some corners of the world we’ve not yet visited. First, before we join up with Elective Study Abroad in Palermo, we’re going to mosey around Sicily. We’re especially excited to visit the UNESCO World Heritage site Villa Romana del Casale, purported to be the world’s best example of Roman mosaic work in situ. We’ll keep you posted, or you can...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Hello Reader, We've always told you: when you're planning a trip, skip past the top Google or AI results and go find a personal travel blogger whose voice you like. Their advice goes deeper, and it's actually theirs. So this week we teamed up with a group of fellow travel creators to put together a collection of free Europe planning resources. Grab whatever's useful, skip the rest, and bookmark the ones you like for later. 🇪🇺 Free Europe Travel Resources A note: signing up for any of these...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, 🧭 Where in the World? Now that the Minnesota State Fair is over and Labor Day has passed, the rest of the year seems entirely too short. That’s why a lot of people – in the Midwest, at least – are squeezing in little road trips. It’s a great time to take in the scenery and make visits to places you missed over the summer. Fall color maps are available now. (It's not just the Midwest – New England is in here, too.) And, for those who didn’t get enough of the farm vibe at the...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Hello Reader, Somewhere in Ecuador, 2010. 🧭 Where in the World? We were just reminded this week by a Facebook prompt that it’s been 16 years since we picked up and moved to Quito, Ecuador. That was the first step, and it was also the longest we’ve stayed in one place since: nine months. I can’t say we had a plan in mind beyond that first stop, which might explain why we’ve rarely, if ever, been disappointed by our travels. (Unhappy? Move on.) The highlights? Our compass leads us to new places...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Hello Reader, 🧭 Where in the World? There’s a shift in the air – which in our case means slightly less smoke. The Minnesota State Fair is upon us, Fall travel plans are coming into focus, and our gardens are looking like they may need a long rest. (Cue the garage cleaning.) While we savor these last summer days, we’ve finalized our travel plans to Sicily and Spain in October. Read on! ✏️ Our Latest Posts Between trips, we've been doing some quieter work behind the scenes cleaning up a few...
2 months ago • 5 min read
Hello Reader, 🧭 Where in the World? A couple weeks have rushed by since we last wrote. While we’ve been at home, it feels like we’re traveling. This must be what they mean by ‘staycation’, one of our favorite portmanteaus. Hosting out-of-town friends and family, we're seeing lots of what makes the Twin Cities and Minnesota great: art fairs, outdoor concerts, museums, theater, parks, bike trails, swimming holes, and great restaurants across town and state. In Minnesota, August comes up...
3 months ago • 4 min read
Hello Reader, 🧭 Where in the World? We are currently in the world of the FIFA World Cup, among fans from around the world who are enjoying great play and incredible stories from both famous and unknown football (soccer) teams and players. Besides the thrilling games which have filled our calendar the last couple weeks, it's been genuinely heartening to watch stadiums full of fans from around the world having a great time here — and reminding us that whatever the headlines say, people...
4 months ago • 5 min read