travel spot: 2025

Showing posts with label 2025. Show all posts

1.19.2026

2025: A Year in 12 Chapters

In 2024, after Elisabeth's great idea to name each month with a chapter, I decided to do a recap of the year, aka, my book for the year and it was titled 2024: A Year in 12 Chapters. I enjoyed it so much, that I kept on the tradition, and now we have it, a new year, new book!

January: Baguettes and Many Steps

I spent the month of January saying goodbye to friends in Germany, and then continuing on solo to France, where I spent a a few days in Strasbourg enjoying the canals and medieval architecture (and the pastries!) before going to Dijon for a month. In Dijon I walked the Owl Trail, and enjoyed more bread and cheese before heading to Lyon, where I stayed for a month. Lyon is a great city and has a fascinating history, including the silk industry and the Lumière brothers, who pioneered the film industry. There are also some great river pathways, fun street art, and of course, more pastries. I met up with a language group and even butchered some French a few times, which was a jolly good time. Oui!

February: In Like Minnesota; Out Like Hawaii

After Lyon, I did a bit of whirlwind travel. I went to Krakow for a week, learned more about the German invasion, toured the ghetto and Auschwitz, and walked from the ghetto to the Schindler factory in the freezing cold, imagining what it would have been like with scant clothing and little body fat. I tried zurek (soup) for the first time, ate lots of pierogies and wandered around the old town. I then went to the Netherlands, and stayed with friends in the little town of Leiden, where we rode bikes (naturally), drank coffee and beer, and enjoyed walking around the canals. We then all went to Brussels together, drank more beer, saw the manequin pis, and there I had my first French taco at a place called O'Tacos (I guess they are Irish French?), which has French fries in it! I should clarify that this was really pretty much a panini kind of sandwich and was nothing like a Mexican taco, but it was not that bad if you close your eyes when you are eating it. I went to Seville, got cursed at by the cleaning lady, ran on the river pathway and got glared at by the locals. I then headed south to the Costa del Sol.

March: Wet and Wild

I stayed on the Costa del Sol for a month, in an apartment right on the beach, and had a great time taking daily walks and runs along the promenade. It was a great chance to rest and rejuvenate. The only issue was that there was a period with a ton of rain, which caused massive flooding in the area. My favorite part was when my Dad and Broski came to visit, and then also separately, but kind of at overlapping times, my uncle and his friend came. It was a lot of fun showing them around, having dinner, eating crappy paella (yup, we did that) and teaching my uncle how to use his phone while abroad. We also went to the Caminito del Rey, which was a lot of fun. After my uncle left, my Dad, Broski and I went to Gibraltar and Granada before they headed to the airport. My favorite of all these places was probably Granada. The Moorish influence is stunning and the tapas are delicious, plus they have mountains nearby. It is on my list for another visit for sure, but not in summer, as I hear that they get over 100 degrees then.

April: My Life is in Ruins, and Beaches Too

The entire month of April was spent in Türkiye; first I spent a month in Antalya near the beach, and this led me to realize that as much as I enjoy swimming and water sports and looking at the waves, I am not really a beach person. Luckily nearby there were mountains, and I joined a hiking group for some fun forays out of the city. Afterward, I hiked the Lycian way along the Turquoise coast, which was beautiful.

May: Al Fresco

The beginning of May was also spent hiking, and it really was different than anything I had done before. The water was so blue and the coastline (and trail!) so rocky, and you are often hiking through ruins, like right next to them! I ate lots of ~~cookies~~ good food and drank Turkish coffee and ayran and thoroughly enjoyed myself. However, I was glad to be done, and afterwards, I moved on to Cappadocia, where I explored cave churches and looked at balloons. I made my way east by taking the Dogu Express, a long distance train that goes across the country, and went overland to Georgia, where I had a great time hiking in the Caucus mountains before heading to Tbilisi.

June: Tales as Old as Time: The Christianity and Wine Versions

I spent a month in Tbilisi, and have I mentioned that Georgia is definitely a place I would go back to? The city is surrounded by hills, there are tons of opportunities for running, hiking, biking and there is so much good food and wine. Also the history of the area fascinates me and the age of some of the history is even more staggering. You can easily get to the mountains and I even did a "day trip" to Yerevan, Armenia, where I spent four days checking out old churches and wine (when I wasn't in bed with food poisoning, that is).

July: Quick and Dirty: the Baltics and the Balkans Adventure

After spending a month in Tbilisi, I was ready to move fast again, and off I went. I spent a week each in Riga, Vilnius and Poland (Warsaw and Wroclaw, where I met up with Tobia!), and really enjoyed the old and different (and colorful!) architecture, the river walks and the food in all of these places. I also was fascinated to learn more about how each of the countries were affected by the USSR and also how they each got out from under the Soviet's thumb. They each have different languages and customs and food, so it is very interesting to see what similarities they have as well as which differences. Also, I rented a bike in both Latvia and Lithuania and had a great time exploring on two wheels. I even went swimming a few times. Afterward, I flew to Podgorica, Montenegro where I began the next leg of my journey, the Peaks of the Balkans hike.

August: The Dark Tourist

I spent 8 days hiking the Peaks of the Balkans through Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo, then I headed to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia for some dark tourism. Just kidding, but apparently that is why a lot of people do go there, and there is a lot that has happened in these two countries! The Sarajevo siege, the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the start of WWI, the Ottomans, the Austro-Hungarians and Tito and the communists! There is a lot to unpack. I also went to Romania where I was fascinated to hear about how all of these things affected them too (minus Tito, but they had Ceaușescu) but differently! For example, Romania has a huge Germanic influence, and much of the architecture and names of places reflect this, yet their language sounds more like Italian, and they don't use the Cyrillic alphabet (whereas Bosnia and Serbia use both, and Bulgaria uses Cyrillic!)

September: Recharging The Batteries

After all of that moving, I was ready to settle down, and I picked the perfect place (for me) to do it, a small mountain town in Bulgaria called Bansko where nothing happens in the summer (it is a ski town), but the trails are made of dirt and the creeks are flowing and the mountains are just outside your door. I rented a bike for a week, made friends with the locals, did a bike race, found a running partner and some hiking buddies and had a great time. I met up with some fellow nomads, ate lots of meat, drank delicious wine and finally got some reading done. I loved it. 100% would go back. This month went by entirely too fast.

October: Blown Away

I have a friend who I have not seen since 2009, but we kept in touch and I kept telling her I was going to come and see her in Scotland. Finally I kept my promise and I had a great time hanging out with her and her family, before I hit the road (literally) for a bit of hiking in the highlands. I loved it. I chose October to avoid the midges and, well, there were none! It was a tad cold, and there were some rainy and very, VERY windy days, but all in all, the countryside was beautiful and the IPAs were delicious, although very low in alcohol for some reason (the highest I saw was 5% whereas an IPA in the US could be closer to 9%). After a few weeks of hiking, I came back to gather up my stuff and say a last goodbye before heading to the Lake District in England, where I did some, you guessed it, more hiking!

November: Baby, It's Cold Outside

Once again, I was a little tired of being on the move every day (literally) and so I was happy to have a 10 day rest doing some housesitting where I ate, caught up a little on some admin stuff, and pet the cat. I also explored the Peak District a bit. Then I headed to Snowdonia, Wales, hiked Mt. Snowdon and then spent some time with Rachel and the kiddos. Rachel was kind enough to let me use her bike and bags so that I could tackle the ride across Wales, called the Lon Las Cymru. I did it, but it was cold (17 degrees one morning) and there was snow and ice! However, I went through some charming little towns and rode on some tiny little roads, and it was great to see the countryside from the seat of a bike. Before I knew it, I was back at Rachel's house, showered and changed, and then on the train headed for the airport to go to Barcelona and my repositioning cruise. The first seven days of the cruise consisted of stops in Cartegena, Malaga, Cadiz, Gibraltar, Casablanca and Funchal.

December: (Not So) Calm Seas

The sea! The last eight days of the cruise consisted of sea days! I wasn't sure if I would like this or not, but I did not mind it a bit. It was nice to get a routine going, do a daily walk and not feel like you had to see everything at whatever stop you were at. Before I knew it, I was in Florida, on the beach, with Jenny! We walked around looking at street art in Miami before Jenny drove me back to my hotel, but not before taking me grocery shopping (thanks Jenny)! The next day I was on a flight home, and being picked up by Broski to head to Monterey for some otters, seagulls and time with family. It was so nice to just hang out, walk, play games and spend time together. I then went and spent a couple of weeks with my parents, enjoying their company, packing, looking at Christmas lights and getting ready for the next leg of travel! The year ended with some time helping Broski clear some stuff from the garage, and a quick meet up with Julie, and I brought in the new year with K and the girls. All in all, it was a great year!

Epilogue: if this sounds like a lot of stuff, it is. Of course, I am not driving kids to and fro to soccer practice, or going to a 9-5 every day, but in my own life, I definitely am working on finding a routine, or a balance, because although the last couple of months were great for example (I saw people! I did things! I learned stuff!) months like the month of September need to be more frequent. It gets tiring always planning the next thing, or being around people a lot, especially when there is an expectation of quality time and FOMO and guilt, so there needs to be a balance. I am still working on how much of each thing should be included and for how long, but this is definitely one of the pivots that I talked about in my recent What I Learned post.

So I ask you for help again. Have you been to a place in the world, anywhere in the world that fits this criteria: public transportation, near mountains with hiking and/or biking trails (that ideally you could walk to), small enough town that you can walk to most things (like 8,000 - 25,000 would be ideal), and a running, hiking and/or biking community. Cherry on top if the produce is fresh and not too expensive, and also I would like to have a grocery store within walking distance. Whipped cream if there is an airport within three hours by bus or train. I don't have to speak the language per se but it would be nice if there were a few people who speak English. Anywhere in the world, now....GO!

What did your 2025 book look like? What chapter or month was your favorite?

1.12.2026

Looking Back: 2025 Money Pie

If you are a long time reader, you know that I enjoy spreadsheets, keeping lists, keeping tallies of stuff, and talking about finances. My favorite time of year is the end of the year (or the beginning of the new year, I suppose), when I get to do all of that in one post, the annual money pie post. I know that not everyone loves doing this as much as me, but I do think the number one step to financial freedom is tracking your expenses so that you know (a) where your money is going and (b) how much you would need when you retire or (c) what you would need in an emergency if you lost your job or something like that. Knowledge is power.

You may recall that in 2024 my pie was a little hard to bake because I sold my house in March and so I had a bunch of extra fees due to that and it was hard to extrapolate everything in an organized manner. I am pleased to report that this year was much cleaner and I even have some fun facts for you! Let's do it.

Accommodation: $11,925.14 (42%) As always, this is my highest expense. I generally rent a one bedroom apartment with a kitchen, air conditioning and a washing machine in or near the city center. For five months in 2025 (see below denoted with !!), I rented a place for an entire month; otherwise I typically stay 4 days to a week in one place, but sometimes when hiking or cycling, I am moving each day. In some places accommodation is more like 50% of my total spent for a month, but once you average it out, due to camping, staying with friends and family and housesitting, the cost comes down a little bit. Here is how the months stacked up depending on location.

Jan: $1,419.97 France!!
Feb: $1,067.49 Poland/Amsterdam/Belgium
Mar: $979.57 Spain!!
Apr: $1,377.07 Türkiye!!            May: $652.99* Türkiye
Jun: $ 810.34 Georgia!!
Jul: $1,127.05 Latvia/Lithuania/Poland
Aug: $1,238.71 Balkans
Sep: $905.96 Bulgaria!!
Oct: $862.39* Scotland
Nov: $1,156.60* England/Wales
Dec: $327.00* US

*Denotes months that I did a lot of camping or staying with friends. Fun fact, in the third quarter, out of the 97 days I was in the UK and the US, I only stayed in paid accommodation for 40 of them. Thanks everyone for putting up with me! I also saved money by using points to pay for 13 nights of accommodation. I will summarize this at the end.

Dining Out: $3,333.61 (12%) I am not one to eat out a lot; I typically buy groceries and cook at home for the most part. However, on average, I ate out about twice a week, plus had some beers, wine, coffee, ice cream and pastries while out and about. Here are the average costs for a few of my typical meals: Lunch or dinner (sometimes with a beer or glass of wine included) averaged out to about $20, beers ranged from about $3 (Spain/Balkans) to about $10 (Wales/US), but averaged around $8 overall. A glass of wine was about $5 on average and a typical pastry was about $2.25.

Groceries: $1,646.99 (6%) As I mentioned, unless I am in a hotel with no kitchen, which is fairly rare, I mostly just buy groceries and cook at home. I don't cook very much meat when at home; that is something I am generally more likely to order when out, and so my main meals often consist of lots of salads, veggies, fruit, bread, beans, rice and yogurt, eggs or oatmeal for breakfast. When you are moving around a lot, it doesn't always make sense to buy a lot of complicated items, so I typically eat pretty simply. I also don't buy a lot of booze, although when in France...or Georgia...or Spain...I may have had a few bottles of wine. Coupled with dining out, my total food cost per day came out to about $13.50.

Shopping: $2,456.09 (9%) This consists of anything I have to buy like toiletries, travel gear, clothes, shoes, electronics, or in my case, camping gear. The bulk of it is electronics, as I had to buy a new phone, and an extra SSD hard drive. I also bought three new pairs of shoes over the year (one in the UK, which was about $170 - ouch!), and replaced a few ratty clothing items that were past their prime. Actually, you will be happy to hear that I found some semi-unicorn pants (remember this post?)! I also bought a new carry on backpack (the 42L version of this one) and ended up getting these packing cubes!

Transportation: $2,134.18 (7%) This consists of any overland transport from one place to another (trains, busses), public transit within a location, car rental, gas, maintenance, parking fees, ferries and one hourly bike rental. It does not include any flights. The bulk of this cost was in the fourth quarter, when I was in the UK and US, as that was almost $900 of the total. If you break that out since it is an outlier, the average per month would have been about $140. I feel like that is pretty reasonable, as I took a train 32 times ($734 total) and a bus 32 times ($617 total) last year!

Misc.: $1,780.58 (6%) This usually consists of any random costs for shipping, bathroom fees, haircuts ($11!), and generally is not that high. However, it does include random life stuff like my CFA dues ($300) and tax prep ($183). This year there were also a few outliers, such as when I sold my house when I was in Tbilisi and had to get documents notarized and sent ($300) or when I renewed my passport when I was in the UK ($180). These things add up!

Health: $1,411.52 (5%) This consists of my monthly health insurance premium and any visits I have to any doctors. My health insurance was about $235 a month for the first three months of the year and then I switched to a different carrier, and now it is around $85 a month. I also went to the dentist for a cleaning in Tbilisi, which was about $60. I did not have any other doctors visits, but in 2026 I plan to do an entire comprehensive exam, so my health costs for this year will be a lot higher.

Utilities: $1,295.28 (5%) This consists of any credit card fees, cloud storage, internet security (VPN), phone and subscriptions (Garmin, GoPro, Trusted Housesitter). This category is a little lumpy, because some of them like NordVPN and Trusted Housesitter, I only pay every couple of years. For phone, I bought a worldwide eSim which cost about $60, plus I pay $5 per month to keep my US number while abroad.

Entertainment: $1,226.02 (4%) The bulk of this ($570) is tours and walking tours, but it also includes bike rentals, kayak rentals, museums, caves, hiking permits, and strippers. Just kidding; I couldn't resist. This also includes a prorated amount from the repositioning cruise I did, as I broke that into accommodation, dining out, travel and entertainment.

Travel: $1,181.70 (4%) Like I said, I broke part of the cruise into the travel category, but the bulk of this category ($890) was the cost of flights. All in all, I took 10 flights over the year, but I only paid for five of them in full, and used points for the other five. I will discuss this a bit more in a minute.

Grand Total: $28,391.11 or about $2,400/month or $77/day. You may recall that my goal was to stay under $2,500 per month. However, there were definitely some months that I was over, but in the end I snuck under. To be honest, this goal is a bit arbitrary, and I don't skimp on comfort. However, I just don't need to go out to eat that much, or to go to all of the attractions in each city.

A quick note about points. I won't bore you by droning on about points, but the short of it is that I got 13 hotel nights and 5 flights for "free" or even if you net out the cost of all of my travel credit cards, this saved me anywhere from about $2,000 to $3,000 depending on which methodology you use. If I would have paid for these things, I would have been over budget. In all honesty, if I would have had to pay for them, I may have only spent half that much (for example, I got a business class flight that I probably would not have paid out of pocket for), which is why I said "depending on methodology."

Lastly, what are my financial goals for 2026? My goal for 2026 is to just keep experiencing life and if I need to raise my budget, I will do that. I am not stuck on it, but I do believe that it is good to have a target, and it is also good not to buy stuff just to have stuff. I am having experiences, and I am enjoying them, and I plan to keep doing that. I will close by saying that I stayed in the cutest little B&B in Snowdonia in Wales that cost $98 per night, was comfortable, was warm and had breakfast included. In the mornings I sat and shot the breeze with the proprietor about hiking and photography, during the day I hiked and took photos, in the evening I ate steak pie and drank beer and I had such a great time. I mean, really, what more could a girl want? I guess whatever makes you happy and sets you free...

Everything a girl could want

Did any of this surprise you? Aside from lodging, what did you spend the most on in 2025? What fun thing did you splurge on? What are your financial goals for 2026? What makes you happy and sets you free?

1.08.2026

Twenty Questions (E13): 2025 What I Learned

Happy New Year! Learning, seeing and doing new things is something that I love doing, and I hope to never stop doing it, ever! If you have been around for a while, you know that I always like to do a recap of some of the new things I learned over the prior year. Last year, I did a list of 24 things, the year before that, it was 23 things, and the year before that, 22 things. Since we just wrapped up 2025, I thought I would incorporate the list into one of my 20 year lists, even if it is kind of cheating a bit. So here you have it! 25 new things for me for 2025!

In 2025, I...

1. Learned that the Ampersand (&) was made from the ligature et. I went to a very cool exhibit at the library in Riga for the 500th anniversary of the Latvian written word where they were talking about how books are made, and how languages get morphed and created. The Latin word "et" means "and" but it was written kind of as one letter crammed together when done in cursive and so eventually it started to look like our current ampersand.

2. Went to several new to me countries: I revisited several countries that I had been to before, but even then, I got to either experience a new city in a country I had been to before or see a previously visited city from a different perspective. However, I also went to several countries that I had not been before. I talked a little about some of the interesting places I saw in 2025 in this post, but here are some new to me countries, in the order visited: Gibraltar (territory), Poland, Georgia, Armenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Kosovo, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Wales, and Morocco.

Riga, Latvia

3. Learned more about the German occupation of Poland. I learned a lot about this in both Krakow and Warsaw, but especially in Krakow. I went to the Schindler factory / museum (from Schindler's List fame) where they went through each of the years and spoke about how the Jewish people were rounded up into the ghetto and subsequently onto trains bound for work or death camps. It was quite moving.

Auschwitz

4. Rode a bike on the left side of the road. I did a bike trip from one side of Wales to the other and it was mostly on dirt and smaller roads, but I did have to ride on the left, which was first for me!

Lon Las Cymru

5. Tried bread in several new places. I like most breads, and am always down for trying new ones everywhere! One of my favorites (don't tell all the others) was khachapuri in Georgia, which often has cheese in it! They also have a non-cheese version called puri, which is shaped like a boat and is cooked on the side of an oven similar to a tandori.

6. Did an overnight(s) backpacking trip in... Turkiye (Lycian Way), Montenegro, Albania & Kosovo (Peaks of the Balkans), Romania (Via Transilvanica), Bulgaria (Pirin Mountains), and Scotland (Affric Kintail, Cape Wrath, West Highland Way, Skye Trail).

Old Man of Storr, Isle of Skye

7. Went skiing in the Alps. Not only was this easy (FYI getting to the ski hill without a car in the US can be hit and miss) but it was also a lot cheaper than it would have been for me at home. For a bus ride, lift ticket and equipment rental it was only about $90 USD, plus I got wine and pizza afterward, and my total bill including that was only around $110 USD. France for the win!

8. Went on a cruise ship. I always figured that I would not be a "cruise person," but I needed to get home and I decided to try a repositioning cruise to see how it went. For those who don't know, this is when the cruise line needs to move the ship from a colder place (i.e. Europe in winter) to a warmer one (i.e. the Carribean in winter) so often since they have to move it anyway, you can get a pretty good deal. My flight home would have been about $550, but a cruise (plus flight) was about $900 for 15 days, which of course includes food, accommodation and entertainment. I met a ton of fun people and had a great time and am glad that I tried it, even though I am still not 100% sure that I would call myself a "cruise person." Stay tuned.

Somewhere in the Atlantic

9. Had 120 seconds of fame. On the cruise, I signed up for what I thought was a trivia show, but ended up being me getting up in front of everyone in a chair with a spotlight and a microphone. The contest was where the MC asks you questions and you are not allowed to say the words "yes" or "no" or nod or shake your head. I lasted about 110 seconds, which was longer than anyone else so far, but I did not win. I am not a fan of being (literally) in the spotlight, but I felt like I did okay, although my sweat quotient was quite high!

10. Watched the news in French. When I was in Lyon, that was when the Musk gesture fiasco was happening and I turned on the news to see what I could find. The funny thing was that when they dub over people like Musk or Trump, the voice DOES NOT match the guy, and so it was kind of comical to watch Trump speak in a high pitched French voice on the news.

11. Visited two silk worker cities. Both Lyon, France and Macclesfield, England were big hubs for silk making. In Lyon you can see the traboules, which were stone passageways used by the workers to stay dry and transport the silk faster. Additionally, many of the restaurants, called bouchons, were started as a way to feed the workers quickly and inexpensively. In Macclesfield, I visited a silk factory, where they are still using the original looms from the 1800s.

Macclesfield silk factory

12. Climbed Wales highest mountain...and saw nothing! Mt. Snowdon is 3,599 feet tall and can be hiked in one day. There are several different ways you can take to get to the top, including a train. I took the Pyg track up and the Miners track down, which is roughly a 8 mile round trip. The day I climbed it was a very foggy and rainy one and I got to the top and there was no view to speak of. However, it was still a fun experience, although I would like to go back on a more sunny day, if possible.

View from the top of Mt. Snowdon

13. Borrowed a tent from a stranger. In Türkiye, I mentioned that I did not have a tent yet and a woman from Switzerland let me borrow hers. I used it and sent it back to her afterward, and was super glad to have been able to have it! Funny enough, I actually once swapped a Europe guide book for a tent, but in that case, I did not have to give it back.

14. Drank rakija. Rakija is a high alcohol (40% - 60%) drink made from plums and served in Serbia and Bosnia (and Croatia). However, many countries have a similar thing, usually made from plums but also made from other fruit; in Bulgaria it's called Rakia; in Romania it is Palincă.

15. Learned to pivot. Whether it is financial, physical or emotional, things do not always go the way that you expect. This is okay, and I am getting better at leaving my old expectations behind and moving on to the next thing. I was watching my friend's 11 year old daughter's soccer camp the other day, and a kid made a mistake, and the trainer told him not to think about it for a second more, and to move on to the next play, and I think this can be true in life too. I don't think stewing over what could have been is healthy, and that instead, we should all move on and start figuring out the next play.

16. Went to the border of Russia. One day I would like to actually go to Russia, but for now, I will probably hold off. However, I did go right up to the border when I was in Georgia, and I also met many Russians when I was in Georgia and Turkey. I obviously don't want to put myself somewhere harmful, but I also am a firm believer that we should not judge a people or a place by their leader. Side note, Iran is also on my list for someday. I have heard that it is a beautiful place.

Kazbegi Region, Georgia

17. Realized the importance of community. I don't think this is something that is completely new, but it is new for the situation that I am in. Moving around a lot can be isolating and it took me a while to figure out where to even find likeminded people. However, I am figuring it out and am finding that there are a lot of people out there like me, making their way around the world, month by month. It just takes a while to get it all sorted out, but I am getting there!

18. Learned to love (?) WhatsApp. You may remember a post I wrote at the beginning of the year (why does that seem so long ago?) where I talked about the frustrations of communicating with different groups of people from different places on different platforms. I still sometimes get annoyed or overwhelmed by group texts (especially when I wake up in the morning and there are over 100 missed messages) but I have to love the fact that I can communicate with anyone anywhere for no extra cost (remember the days when you had to use a phone card?) Also, many foreign businesses actually use WhatsApp to communicate, which is great when you are traveling, as otherwise you may have to incur international calling fees to call people, as your regular phone number is usually still from your home country. So, yay WhatsApp (and Telegram etc.) as it has helped me to get things done and make friends while far from home.

19. Learned how to say toilet (restroom) in several languages! You may know that I have a standard list of things I learn in each language for each country I go to. I usually just tell ChatGPT (Chad) to give me the list for the next few countries, and then I sreenshot it and put it as my phone screensaver (lock screen) so that I can access it easily in each place. Here is my basic list that I usually start with: Hello, Good morning, Good day, Goodbye, Thank you, Toilet, Water, Where is…?, Do you speak English?, I don’t speak...the local language. Luckily the word for toilet is very similar in most languages (or you can always just do the pee pee dance and most people will understand)!

Romanian: Toaletă, pronounced toh-ah-LEH-tuh

Albanian: Tualet, pronounced too-ah-LET

Lithuanian: Tualetas pronounced too-ah-LEH-tahs

Latvian: Tualete pronounced TOO-a-leh-teh

Russian: Туалет pronounced too-a-LYET

French: toilettes pronounced twah-LET

Georgian: ტუალეტი pronounced too-ah-LEH-tee

Turkish: tuvalet pronounced too-vah-LET

Dutch: toilet pronounced twah-LET

...and then there's Armenian: Զուգարան – ZOO-ga-ran

Lock screen

20. Took a train across Türkiye. I rode the Dogu Express, which goes from Ankara to Kars, all the way across the country of Türkiye. It took over 24 hours and was quite the adventure, although it was not the longest time period that I have ever spent on a train!

Bonus five!

21. Learned patience. I am not a patient person, and I would not say that I have perfected this at all, but I do think that I am getting better at realizing that there are some things that I just can't control and it does not make any sense to try, or to be stressed out when I can't control them. I still have a way to go, grasshopper, but I am working on it!

22. Navigated local transportation in Türkiye etc. The Turkish (and the Georgians and Armenians) often use a little minivan as their transport. In Türkiye it is called a dolmuş; in Georgia and Armenia, it is called a marshrutka. In all cases, it is difficult (for a foreigner) to figure out: where it leaves from, where it goes, how much it costs, when it leaves. It is like a (not so) fun scavenger hunt, where you have to find the station, or gas station, or side of the road, where the minivan leaves from, and then figure out where it goes and then also figure out how to let the driver know when you want to get off. Most of these stop wherever someone needs to get on or off, so it is kind of confusing, but it also quite nice if you need to be dropped at your cousin's driveway, as long as it is along the route! PS did I mention that in Georgia and Armenia the signs are not always in Latin letters?

Transport in Georgia

23. Splurged! I am a frugal person, but there have been a few things that I have splurged on that I think have been worth it. For example, I pay for a(n overpriced) travel related credit card that I basically cringe every time I get charged the annual fee. However, it has given me some respite for hectic days due to lounge access, as well as some travel insurance and perks, and has "forced" me to do some fun things in order to recoup my fee, so all in all, I think in some cases comfort or low-stress is worth paying for. This is also something I am still working on though, and I will still probably continue to balk at paying $20 for a salad in a restaurant. Such is life.

24. Tried new foods! Hellim, the Turkish cheese, Ćevapi, the Balkan meatball in tube form, Romanian Mici and Papanasi, Baltic quark, Polish Żurek, and don't forget Burek, Börek, Byrek, Boreg, and Brik! I love food and trying new food is such a fun part of traveling (and life)!

Meat in tube form: Bosnia, Serbia, Romania

Papanasi - basically a donut with whipped cream and berries

25. Learned to value that which I sometimes take for granted. This category encompasses a lot of things, but mostly, I think that there are people who keep me sane, let me know that I am cared for, and encourage me to continue to do what I am doing. Not to say that I did not appreciate this before (or ever), but for each year or day that goes by, I realize more and more how good I really have it, when it comes to support from both near and far (literally!) I have enjoyed all of my meet ups with friends, both new and old, and also am always happy to come home to the usual crowd. I also of course appreciate all of you reading and commenting here today! Happy New Year! Here's to this year being even better than the last!

2025 fun with friends!

What new thing did you do, see or learn in 2025? What is your favorite foreign food that you tried in 2025?

1.05.2026

What I Learned, Looking Forward, Looking Back: December 2025

December was an interesting month, and not a relaxing one, as is often the case. However, it was filled with good people, good food and sometimes even good weather! This is the last monthly wrap up for 2025 but stay tuned for my 2025 "month by month book" later this month!

Please copy and paste the questions at the end and add your answers to the mix!

Where was I? Atlantic Ocean, Florida, California

1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?

January: Baguettes and Many Steps
February: In Like Minnesota; Out Like Hawaii
March: Wet and Wild
April: My Life is in Ruins, and Beaches Too
May: Al Fresco
June: Tales as Old as Time: The Christianity and Wine Versions
July: Quick and Dirty: the Baltics and the Balkans Adventure
August: The Dark Tourist
September: Recharging The Batteries
October: Blown Away
November: Baby, It's Cold Outside
December: (Not So) Calm Seas

2. What did you learn last month?

I learned a lot about sea turtles! I listened to a lecture by a biologist and learned about what the different types are, what they eat and how long it takes before they reach the age of maturity (10 years in some cases) and have to find their old hatching grounds to lay their own eggs. The one most of us are probably most familiar with is the Green sea turtle, which is the one with the pretty shell (like the one in Finding Nemo) but there are six other types!

3. What was the weather like where you are?

It was nice on the Atlantic, rainy and warm in Florida, nice on the California coast, but there has been a nasty tule fog in the Sacramento valley that is also quite cold and has been lingering! At my parents for the holidays, it was rainy (and the Sierra got a big snow). Then we got a King tide and a lot of rain, which caused a bunch of flooding and a shut down of the 101 freeway! Woohoo.

Donner traffic cams on the afternoon of Jan 4

Marin county on the afternoon of Jan 3

4. What event last month was your favorite?

It's hard to pick one specific event, but I would probably say in general, it was spending time with loved ones!

5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month? Although it feels like due to visiting, I got no reading done, I actually did read a few good things.

Book: The Correspondent & The Impossible Fortune (Thursday Murder Club #5)

Movie/Show: My Dad and I got hooked on the Norwegian holiday TV show Home for Christmas (Hjem til Jul) on Netflix which was totally silly and very Hallmark movie, but of course it was fun to see how it all turned out.

Podcast: I'm enjoying Lives Less Ordinary and Things Fell Apart on BBC

6. Tell us one funny recent story.

I told K's kids that if they swore, they would have to pay me $1 per swear word. The youngest, L, who is 11, asked if we could clarify which words were bad. I said of course we could and asked which she needed clarification for. She said, "what about the C word?" and I told her that definitely that was NOT allowed. She said, well can we confirm what it is (you know she just wants to say all the bad words but have permission to do it) and I said sure, but we won't repeat it ever again afterwards, and she says....Crap!

Of course I said, yes that is a bad word, but I thought you meant a different one and she wanted to know what it was. I did not enlighten her.

7. What are you looking forward to this month?

I am hoping to do some cycling if I can get my butt in gear (pun intended!) and rent a bike and figure out where to leave my stuff etc. This is where I want to go. Photos and stories TBD!

Your turn! To copy/paste, highlight the text below and click CTRL-C, then put the cursor in the comment box and click CTRL-V.

DECEMBER:

1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?
2. What did you learn last month?
3. What was the weather like where you are?
4. What event last month was your favorite?
5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month?
6. Tell us one funny recent story.

JANUARY:

7. What are you looking forward to this month?

Bonus question! Do you think crap is a bad word? Where do you draw the line for an 11 year old?

12.22.2025

Twenty Questions (E12): 2025 Best of Books

Happy Holidays! As you know, every year, I give you a list of some of my favorite reads from the year. According to Goodreads, I read 139 books in 2024 and DNFed an additional 12, which comes out to roughly 56,112 pages. Here are a few stats.

Breakdown by star rating:
5 stars (loved/it was great): 14 (9%)
4 stars (liked a lot/it was good): 72 (47%)
3 stars (liked a little/it was okay): 40 (27%)
2 stars (barely liked/it was not that good): 12 (8%)
1 star (it sucked but I finished it): 1 (1%)
0 stars (DNF): 12 (8%)

Average rating including DNFs: 3.32
Average excluding DNFs: 3.61

As you can see, I am getting better at abandoning books I don't like, although this year I did not do it as much as last year (8% vs 13%). Also four stars was my most common rating once again (last year it was 41%), and due to there being a higher percentage of five star ratings (last year was 4%) I brought my average rating up from last year (3.48).

Here's my list from last year, or you can find a list of all of my favorites from prior years on my bookshelf page or on Goodreads.

The following books (in revese order of date read) were all five star reads:

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans: This was a series of letters, mostly written by a 77 year old woman to various people, including authors, family members, friend's children and her next door neighbor. You can't help but like her and so for me this book caught me right off the bat. Her life takes some interesting twists and turns and you find out all about them in her correspondence. I generally enjoy this writing format, and this book was no exception.

Wayward Girls by Susan Wiggs: I am sure you have probably read books about the wayward girls before, which were (often Catholic) girls who got pregnant before marriage and were sent to a home to have the baby and subsequently give it up for adoption. They were meant to be studying, but often were put to work doing labor for the institution that they were sent to. This one is similar to the others, but was an interesting story of how some of these places really worked behind the scenes.

River is Waiting by Wally Lamb: Although disturbing, I could not help but get into this book. The other thing that was strange is that although the main character is technically the "bad guy" you kind of want him to succeed in the end. He is a father who commits a horrible crime and gets sent to prison, where he struggles both mentally and physically. The questions is: does he deserve to be punished or do we want him to be forgiven?

Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa: This is a fascinating story of the Israel-Palestine conflicts as told from the perspective of a Palestinian family. I feel like this is not a perspective that I have seen a lot, and so it was interesting to hear some of the stories.

Heartwood by Amity Gaige: If you have not heard about this book yet, you may be living off the grid. Actually speaking of off the grid, it is a story of an Appalachian hiker gone missing and the subsequent search to find her. If you are not into hiking, you will still enjoy this book, but if you are, it will be even better. Even my brother read and enjoyed it.

Careless People by Sara Wynn-Williams: There are a lot of books written by people in the tech world, where they talk about how bad or good it is, and some of them are much better than others. I definitely have DNFed several in this space, but this one was not one of them. If you have read or enjoyed Lean In, you may find that this book is an interesting counterpoint to some of items discussed in Sandburg's novel.

Alive by Piers Paul Read: Funny story, I am fairly certain I may have read this a long time ago, but either way, I liked it again. This is a true story about a Uruguayan rugby team who are flying over the Andes in a small plane when they crash and land on a ledge high up on the side of a cliff. They have to struggle to survive and also attempt to get out of a very precarious situation. Spoiler alert! Some of them live to tell the tale, but it takes a long time for them to get help.

The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafah: Interestingly, this book is also about a Palestinian woman, but this time she is living in the US. She is teaching at a Muslim school in Chicago when a shooter attacks. She struggles to mentally heal from the experience and has to delve into her past to come to terms with it. This book discusses the subjects of Islamophobia, living in the US as a Muslim woman and finding community in your roots.

How to Read a Book by Monica Wood: Do you want to feel good? Read this. A young woman gets out of prison after serving a sentence for drunk driving and she goes to work at a bookstore where she makes an unlikely friend. It delves into forgiveness, family and friendship and... books!

Look Closer by David Ellis: I love a good thriller, and this came right at the right time. I was in a bit of a slump, and this book is one that you don't have to think much about, but it is entertaining. It's a tale about money, greed, adultery and murder and it helped get me out of my slump. There are definitely some flaws in the writing, but for me it hit the spot.

Crow Mary by Kathleen Grissom: This is the tale of Goes First, a Crow Native, who gets married off to a white trader, gets renamed Mary and moves with her husband to her new home near a trading post in Saskatchewan. She has to learn to adapt to the ways of the area, and form new friendships with the people there. There is still a lot of fighting between the whites and the Native tribes and over the years, there are many battles, some of which Mary has to fight in, and some of which are devastating to her and her family. I have also read both The Kitchen House and Glory Over Everything, and both books are also excellent reads.

Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan: A true story about twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan, who woke up alone in a hospital room one day, strapped to her bed and unable to move or speak, with no memory of how she’d gotten there. She becomes labeled violent, psychotic, and a flight risk and this is her story of how she figured out what was going on inside her head.

By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult: A dual timeline story about a woman in 1581 and one in modern day, both of who struggle a bit in the man's world of playwriting. In both cases, the women are passing off their work as someone else's and this is the story of how, despite the years between them, some things continue to be difficult to overcome.

Some Honorable Mentions: As my biggest category was the four stars, there are way too many to mention, but to round out my list of twenty, a few others worth a read are:

Listen For the Lie by Amy Tintera: A woman is suspected of murdering her best friend but she cannot remember any details of the night that her friend was murdered. Years later, a podcaster decides to dig up the past and old stories resurface.

The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali: This is a coming of age novel set in Tehran, where two young women of different classes grow up in the middle of a country filled with political strife.

I'm That Girl by Jordan Chiles: Chiles' memoir of her time growing up, and her path to the Olympics. Of course, getting to that point was not easy, but this was even more true due to her race, and this book does a good job of describing the struggle to get there both physically and mentally.

Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter by Nikki French: This is a very similar plot to Listen For the Lie, as it also about a woman who disappeared several years ago and a podcaster who digs up the past and of course some things that people don't want to be dug up. I guess I enjoy this storyline!

The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagen: Cate Kay is a famous author and has successful movies made from her stories. However, nobody knows who Cate Kay is. An author writing under a pseudonym, she is an enigma, but one day, she decides to come out of hiding. Of course her past also comes to light and we may be surprised to discover who she really is.

From Here to The Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Prestley: Luckily, Lisa Marie's daughter recorded some stories with her mother before she died and this is a memoir put together by daughter Riley about Lisa Marie's life growing up with Elvis as a father. It was not an easy life and it was interesting to hear a little bit more about the behind the scenes world in the Prestley household.

On The Hippie Trail by Rick Steves: Who doesn't love a good travel story? If you haven't heard of Steves, he is an avid traveler with several TV shows and books (and free walking tours!). This book was about one of his first journeys in the 70s from Istanbul to Kathmandu overland, and the adventures he had along the way. I loved seeing this adventure through fresh eyes and he has some lines in this book that I completely agree with.

I will leave you with a few lines about his experience from the end of his book:

"I believe that if more people could have such a transformative experience, especially in their youth, our world would be a more just and stable place. Travelers understand that the big challenges of the future will be blind to borders and we'll need to tackle them together, as global citizens and as a family of nations. And most fundamentally, travelers know that the world is a welcoming place filled with joy, love and good people.

Young or old, rich or poor, backpack or rolling suitcase, the best way to understand this is to experience it firsthand. To get out there and get to know our neighbors. To build not walls, but bridges.

I believe anyone can still stow away on the Reality Express like [we] did, get their fingers dirty in other cultures, wallop their ethnocentrism, and come home with the most valuable souvenir: a broader perspective."

What was your favorite book of 2025? Do you mostly read audio, eBook or paper books?

12.15.2025

Twenty Questions (E11): 2025 Best of Travel

First of all, I just want to say sorry that I have been absent in communicating, reading and commenting, but I am not going to lie, I came back from being away and out of service for the last several weeks and marked all my feed "as read." I will be catching up slowly, but will also probably not be 100% on in December either, as my focus will be spending time with family. Now, onward!

One of the most common questions I get asked about my travels is...what was your favorite place? As I have mentioned before, I liken this to choosing my favorite child, or my favorite book, which I believe is near to impossible. I mean, obviously I am my parents' favorite, but other than that, choosing a favorite is hard! Just kidding Broski! So instead of choosing a favorite, I will tell you twenty (in no particular order) destinations that I really enjoyed in 2025!

Don't forget to add your two cents in the comments: what were some of your favorite destinations, vacations or trips in 2025 and why??

1. Hiking and eating in Mesita, Georgia