Travel-Stained Life

Romania is the second country in our Eastern European circuit and it is filled with pleasant surprises from the unassuming people to the beautiful pine tree landscapes.  While we were in this country, we set our minds to visiting Transylvania, Dracula’s former stomping grounds.  Just hearing “Transylvania” conjures up visions of a dark and sinister [...]

Things we learned: Currency: Leva (1.5 Leva=$1 USD) Places Visited: Sofia, Belogradchik, Plovdiv, Gabrovo, Veliko Tarnovo Crime rate in this country is pretty low. Bulgarians nod for no and shake their heads for yes.  It may help to remember that da means yes. You will know when people in this country speak English because they [...]

I was looking out the window of another train, watching the green farm fields of northwest Bulgaria pass us by.  Suddenly, a donkey cart could be seen trotting down a nearby road, with an elderly owner patiently riding the cart to wherever he was going, reminding me that we were not chugging across the plains [...]

Things we learned: Currency: Euro (1 Euro=$1.5 USD) Places Visited: Athens, Santorini, Naxos, Meteora, Kalambaka, Kastraki, Thessaloniki (Kardia) If you want a seat, don’t book a train ticket 10 minutes before departure and arrive early to claim a seat. A bit of knowledge of the Greek alphabet goes a long way. Instead of celebrating birthdays, [...]

It’s been awhile since we have posted about the cuisine of a country so what better place to begin again than in Greece.  I will start by saying that because I am not an eggplant (or olive) fan, I was probably denying myself some popular Greek fodder.  I would also say that it would take [...]