From the moment I arrived in Porto, I was delighted with the city’s colorful old buildings, sparkling river, steep streets, and possession of a lively, but peaceful charm. I knew I made the right call for a quick overnight trip. Situated along the Douro River in northern Portugal, Porto is one of Europe’s oldest cities. […]
Category: Travel
How to Be a Vegetarian in Spain’s Foodie Capital
It’s not easy being a vegetarian foodie in Spain. Or at least, it’s not all that fun. In terms of veg options, most restaurants feature the same players: Tortilla, pimientos padrones, salmorejo (minus the ham), salad with goat cheese, a grilled veggie plate. These dishes are all perfectly yummy, but after the twentieth time eating […]
Beer & Waffles in Charming Ghent & Bruges
For quaint beauty and village-like atmospheres with the vibrancy of much larger cities, the Belgian towns of Ghent and Bruges really take the proverbial cake. In this case, the proverbial cake is a waffle. Ghent is so charming that I’ve visited it twice since I’ve lived in Europe (because I am a sucker for charm). […]
Ah, Asturias
Maybe it’s my Celtic ancestry, but I adore northwest Spain. The air is clean, the grass is lush, and I just want to take deep breaths off all the crisp goodness. And I know this is controversial: But I find the terrain around the Atlantic Ocean more beautiful than that around the Mediterranean (which is […]
Moorish History, Flamenco and Recycled Glass in Granada
This past week, Mr. Dame in Spain and I motored down south to meet up with visiting family. (We didn’t manage to escape the gray drizzle that seems to have blanketed all of Spain for the past week). We arrived very late at night, GPS was no help at all, and I was not a […]
How a Spanish Onion Pulled Me Out of My Restaurant Funk
I’ve been a little down on restaurants in Spain lately. Maybe it was spending two weeks in Paris, where you’d have to try really, really hard to eat something that isn’t delicious. Or maybe it was the two-night trip north through Bilbao and Pamplona where the omnipresence of pinxtos (thought by many Spaniards to be […]
Shamed on the French Metro
I was on the Metro today with several classmates, talking about writing and a lecture we were coming from when a Parisian woman turned to us and said “Do you know that 20 people died?” Our conversation stopped abruptly. I felt too embarrassed to even exhale. I fiddled with my leopard gloves, passing them back […]
Je Suis Charlie
Yesterday morning when I was walking to class in Paris, the city was all police cars and sirens. Oblivious being that I am, I blocked out the noise, figuring perhaps Paris is often loud with sirens. Near Notre Dame, I realized there was a bomb siren going off. This I chalked up to “Oh, must […]
Five Favorites from La Rioja
Back when the weather was nice and warm, I took two separate trips to visit Spain’s main wine region, La Rioja. For the first trip, I set out from Madrid, along with three other girls and a little dog and stayed at a cute little hotel in tiny, charming Elciego. While it is in the […]
The Case of the Cloistered Nun Cookies
More than a year ago I was with a group of friends talking about our upcoming move to Madrid when one friend exclaimed “You must find these amazing cookies made by nuns” and proceeded to tell me a story about her quest to find these special cookies during a trip to Madrid. It ended well […]
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