Great writers have a talent for placing their stories in spectacular locations that stand up to the masterful mix of words they are attempting to blend on a printed page. They use their imaginative powers to construct a town that serves as the canvas for the conversations and actions of their characters. The setting of a well told tale is sometimes as important as the stories themselves and can even become a character itself. It’s likely they set their story in an ancient storybook of a town nestled tightly by a beautiful blue sea. The sea should be warm and calm and dotted with luscious islands colored dark green by thick foliage. Steep hills of jagged rock should rise sharply along the shore from the crystal waters. These rocky hills should show the wear from ions ... read more

As we were finishing up our last few days in Belgium, something unexpected happened that caused quite a bit of excitement. We had booked an apartment with Airbnb in the Alsatian town of Strasbourg, France. We had already purchased our train tickets on the super-fast TGV train and were making last minute departure plans when we got bad news. Our reservation had been cancelled! We have rented nearly 50 apartments during our travels and it was something we expected would happen sooner or later. Because we normally rent apartments for one month, it can be a little bit of a problem to find a place at the last minute. With just a few days left until we move, most apartments have at least a few days rented during the upcoming month, which means we are out ... read more

This is a story of love, beauty and dedication. Like the sea, the wind and the land, it goes on forever and cannot be changed by the passing of time. The tale must be read to the end, or you cannot understand. The narrative has taken years to write, but will only take minutes to read. It is a timeless drama that many others have experienced and no doubt have shared on these pages before. Hopefully you have, or will, experience a similar tale in your travels and more importantly in your life. There is a land, far away, where the mountains rise directly from the sea. Somewhat barren and rocky, they tower over the azure sea, majestically rising to granite peaks a thousand feet above. The August sun warms early and angrily blisters the land ... read more

This month we celebrate the 5 year anniversary since we began our non-stop nomadic gypsy lifestyle. 4 continents, 29 countries, 142 beds and countless ornate churches later we are still in one piece and, despite a few newly acquired aches and pains due to old age and cheap Ikea beds, ready for more. We found ourselves in Lviv, Ukraine without a plan of where to go next. We thought about seeing more of Ukraine or perhaps moving on to Russia. Russia needed an expensive visa and Eastern Ukraine didn’t have much pull for us. Indecision seemed to rule the day until we read of the so-called Gypsy Train that leaves Ukraine nightly for Romania. The Gypsy Train is an overnight train that goes south from Lviv to the small town of Sovotino on the Ukraine/Romania Border. ... read more

The trumpeter sounds out from high above as we exit the Cloth Market into Rynek Glowny, the town square of Krakow, Poland. He plays his anthem as he does each hour of the day. It is loud and clear and filled with melancholy. He stops his tune abruptly part way through a note. It pays homage to the ancient trumpeter who, as the legend goes, was shot while warning the town that Tatar armies had gathered to attack the city. He waves to the crowd below and they heartily return his salute. He closes the window and repeats himself in the next quadrant of the gothic tower that has reigned large over the center of town since the 15thcentury. The crowd gathered in the square below the cathedral’s towers hardly misses a beat in their celebrations. ... read more