Imposing stone walls have encircled Dubrovnik, Croatia since the 9th century, protecting it from invaders. Visitors now patrol the ramparts, searching for ships on the horizon and perfect photo ops, of which there are many. It’s possible to walk the entire length of the Dubrovnik City Walls, which continue unbroken for 1,940 meters. Watch towers […]
UNESCO
Versailles: In the Footsteps of Kings and Tourists
In the 1670s, Louis XIV built the Palace of Versailles on the site of his father’s hunting lodge. Louis was fed up with the scheming nobility and relocated the entire French court from Paris to a remote location where he could monitor them more closely. Versailles was designed to show off Louis’s absolute power as […]
How to Spend One Day in Barcelona
When you travel as much as I do, things are bound to go wrong. Lost luggage, food poisoning, and rental car damage are just a few speed bumps I’ve encountered around the world. Cancelled flights and missed connections are standard for everyone these days. But what happens when your final destination is, in the words […]
Autumn in Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia
There are places in this world with natural landscapes so stunning that they don’t seem real even when you are standing in them. Plitvice Lakes National Park in central Croatia is one of those magical places. Crystal clear water flows through a series of interconnected lakes that were formed through thousands of years of erosion and […]
Discovering Vilnius: Lithuania’s Dynamic Capital
If I asked you to find Vilnius on a map, could you? Before moving to Latvia, I certainly wouldn’t have been able to. I recently explained three times to a friend – who’s French, mind you – that Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania and I still don’t think she fully knows where I went […]