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July 25, 2013 | in Europe, Travel

The Land of Fire & Ice, Part Fjorir: Creatures in the Blue Lagoon

reykjavik iceland street art

One of the happiest aspects of living on the East Coast is that Europe is only a good airplane deal and a 4th of July Weekend away.  Iceland, in particular, was exceptionally close, and the time change meant we were able to arrive home in NYC only 2 hours after leaving Reykjavík.  End result?  A […]

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July 22, 2013 | in Europe, Travel

The Land of Fire & Ice, Part Prir: Hot Spots

hallgrimskirkja reykjavik iceland

Day #11,402: We woke up to… sun! One way to save money in a country that’s insanely pricey- and Iceland is insanely pricey, even to us New Yorkers- is to live like the locals.  Faced with a $14 per person continental breakfast at our motel, Mr. M & I fled to the town’s grocery store.  […]

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July 19, 2013 | in Europe, Travel

The Land of Fire & Ice, Part Tveir: Feeling Icy

jokulsarlon iceberg iceland zodiac boat

Grouchy While Traveling is an inexcusable sin.  There’s no crying in adventuring. But if this blog is actually chronicling my days and not just sugar-coating life, I gots to be honest. Day#11,401: I woke up grouchy. Maybe it was Iceland’s midnight sun shooting laser beams of light past our flimsy hotel room curtains (and leading […]

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July 11, 2013 | in Europe, Travel

The Land of Fire & Ice, Part Einn: Independence

icelandic horse

Days #11,399-11,400: By some turn of witchcraft, it takes less time to get to Iceland from NYC than it takes to make my usual pilgrimages home to LA.  Four and a half hours after leaving JFK, Mr. M & I touched down near the barren, moonscaped town of Keflavik. Mood: Stellar.  While Icelandair has the […]

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June 17, 2013 | in Europe, Travel

That’s Amore

sorrento beach italy amalfi coast

Day #10,354: After an 11-hr flight from San Francisco, amounts of anti-anxiety flying meds that would impress a junkie, and a steamy hot blur of a train ride from Rome, Mr. M & I found ourselves in the golden town of Sorrento on Italy’s Amalfi Coast.  (“Found ourselves” meaning face-planted into bed at 8pm in […]

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May 25, 2013 | in Europe, Travel

High on Amsterdam, Part Twee: Dutch Treasures

amsterdam flower market tulip netherlands

**Where are my manners?  I never related Part Two of our extra-long layover in the beautiful city of Amsterdam!  Hopefully absence has made the heart grow fonder.** Day #11,221: When I mentioned we were stopping in Amsterdam for a 2-day layover, two different people independently told us to take our picture with the “Amsterdam” sign.  […]

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April 15, 2013 | in Europe, Travel

The Land of Fire and Ice

horses

Life is pretty darn fantastic when I’m given the opportunity to buy a new travel book. The occasion, you ask? Mr. M & I are headed to Iceland for the 4th of July weekend! From the pictures I’ve come across in my trip planning, Iceland seems to offer up unbelievably gorgeous natural scenery: waterfalls, glaciers, […]

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April 11, 2013 | in Europe, Travel

Bom Ano Novo in Portugal: The Path to Port

taylor ladgate porto douro valley portugal

Days #11,190: Having successfully completed our first Portuguese road trip, our band of six graduated to the next level: an overnight trip into the Porto region of the country. After Lisbon, Porto is perhaps the most famous region in Portugal, as it’s the birthplace of Port wine, that syrupy sweet moonshine listed at the bottom […]

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March 3, 2013 | in Europe, Travel

Holy Vatican City!

vatican city st peters basilica

Although my decision-making process regarding what days to write about is generally pretty haphazard (read: non-existent… it’s a blindfold, spin, & point situation), Pope Benedict’s recent abdication had me thinking of our own visit to the Vatican City a few years ago.  (It also has me wondering whether he can still insist on being addressed […]

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January 19, 2013 | in Europe, Travel

Bom Ano Novo in Portugal, Part Dois: The Indispensable Randomness of NYE

Sintra Portugal

Days #11,188-9:  After a youth spent despising New Year’s Eve for its empty, sequined promises that never met the enormity expected of Last Night of the Year (ugh, or the Millennium… NYE 1999 was particularly horrid) my old age hath brought wisdom. The key to a good New Year’s Eve somehow isn’t good planning (this […]

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