Fiona didn’t have too much to say about her stays in Prague, Czech Republic; Drasnice, Croatia; or Berlin, Germany—not because they aren’t wonderful places to visit, but because she was pretty sick for much of her time there. But she still managed to have some fun and make a few distinctly Fiona-y observations, so here… Continue reading Where in the World is Fiona? Central Europe!

Our one full day in Prague was incredibly fun and impossibly beautiful, but boy was it long and tiring. As we made our way back to Carolyn’s that evening, Fiona kind of switched off, which we first assumed was just her being worn out after a long day running around in the sun. But by… Continue reading Croatia, We Hardly Knew Ya

After Scotland, Fiona traveled south to London, the capital of England. Both Scotland and England are part of the United Kingdom, or UK for short, and the UK is ruled (kind of) by a real queen! Who lives in London! Fiona was excited to visit Queen Elizabeth’s residence, Buckingham Palace, and see the guards who… Continue reading Where in the World is Fiona? London!

London holds a special place in my heart. I did my semester abroad there in college, and that experience, along with the three years I lived in Manhattan after I graduated, convinced me that living in a city was not only possible but wonderful—even if it took me a few years more to realize that… Continue reading London, Always Calling

There was a lot for Fiona to love about Scotland, where we spent about 10 days in late May/early June. For starters, the name Fiona has Scottish origins, and red hair is really common in Scotland, so she fit right in! We also discovered that the national animal of Scotland is the unicorn, and the… Continue reading Where in the World is Fiona? Scotland!

Just one day after picking up my mom and two after we’d arrived there ourselves, we were back to the airport bright and early to retrieve Grandma’s lost suitcase and pick up our rental car (Snow Dash, or Bumblemobile, when we were pretending to be insect-themed superheroes) so we could hit the road for the… Continue reading Walking and Whisky and Ditches, Oh My! A Highs and Lows in the Highlands

After feeling a bit low throughout much of Portugal, we were fired up to start the next leg of our trip. Our 10-day Scottish tour (Edinburgh + Highlands) seemed to be just what we needed in lots of ways:   A change of pace: Spain and Portugal share a lot of similarities in food, culture,… Continue reading A Wee Edinburgh Excursion

After Spain, Fiona spent about 12 days in Portugal, Spain’s next-door neighbor. We practiced a few words in Portuguese while we were there, including “bom dia” (good morning) and “obrigada” (thank you). Fun fact: How you thank someone in Portuguese changes based on your gender; girls are supposed to say “obrigada” with an “a,” while… Continue reading Where in the World is Fiona? Portugal!

After a much-needed jolt of social interaction and city energy in Porto, we went a little ways south for a two-night stay at the beach in Gafanha da Encarnacao. The stop was a last minute addition that Dan magicked in Sande, when we decided we needed a little more oomph in our itinerary—we accomplished it… Continue reading Striped Houses and Ribboned Bridges: Bright Spots in a Blue Stay

After a perplexing decision-making process, we finally figured out where to spend our first five nights in Portugal: at an Airbnb in Sande, right alongside the Douro River. River views, hammocks, beautiful outdoor space… what could go wrong? Well, first off, the travel day from Ortigueira was a doozy, made extra complicated by the fact… Continue reading Cry Me a (Douro) River