Switzerland Part One: Ayent

This is an important post. So important, in fact, that I will have to make it two posts. Because it’s about the most stunningly beautiful country I’ve ever visited—Switzerland!

Once we decided to head into eastern France, it was only a matter of time before I convinced us to go to Switzerland. It was a new country for both of us, and Bryan’s 50th country, so that’s what got him on board.

The beauty of Switzerland smacks you in the face as soon as you cross the border. The views of the Alps are everywhere. And everything feels fresh, crisp, and pristine. We stopped for gas and quick burgers, and my jaw dropped looking around. Plus, the burger employee asked why I left Bailey outside and invited me to please bring her in. Respect!

Our first stop was Ayent, Switzerland where we stayed at Mayen2003 Ayent, a historic chalet that was built in the 1700s. As we zig-zagged up the two-way road i(that was barely wide enough for one car, let alone two) into the mountains, my heart was racing. But the views were worth it.

The whole town made me want to go skiing, but it was August, so we would have to settle for hiking.

But first, surfing! Bryan did a session at Alaia Bay, a state of the art wave pool where you can surf in the Alps. Sadly, I chose not to go, because I was saving up all my money to spend on fondue and raclette, and I had just visited my first wave pool in Australia less than a year ago. It was amazing to watch, though! And had even more incredible views!

Now onto hiking… We did the best hike ever at Bisse du Torrent-Neuf. It was a 4.6 mile hike with a little bit of everything. Art (yes, there were prints of paintings hanging in the forest at the beginning of the hike), history in the old chapels and pictures of what the cliffside trail looked like in the past, bears (signs and statues), four suspension bridges, a tunnel, two bars/restaurants, and views upon views.

It was mind bending to know we had driven up so high, only to hike even higher, and to see mountain peaks that were still even higher than us. And it was hard not to feel some vertigo hiking on the edge of a cliff on the side of an Alp. We did not bring Bailey on this one, because she doesn’t like walking on metal grates, and the suspension bridges would have been too long and wobbly to carry her.

I also learned a bit about Swiss cuisine in this part of the trip. Apparently, raclette and fondue are not popular summertime treats (who would have guessed?!) Swiss people usually eat those meals very sparingly and in the wintertime. Also, we were still in the French part of Switzerland seeking Swiss German foods.

Nevertheless, we were able to find some places that could satisfy my Swiss food interests. We had rosti (potato) raclette at Les Brasseurs Sion—where I learned that raclette is stronger than I remembered and pretty salty for me. And Pinte Contheysanne for a serious fondue spread. The server seemed like she thought we were a little crazy for ordering it in August, but she helped us out regardless. If I lived in Sion, I don’t think I could limit myself to once a year!

I also picked a lot of delicious fresh plums off the neighbors’ trees in Ayent. And we surprisingly found a really good Thai food truck (Malagor Thai Food) down the street from our chalet. Strange to say that our first two meals in Switzerland were burgers and pad Thai, but we made up for it with the raclette and fondue.

Around that point, we decided we needed to stay in Switzerland longer in order to visit the Swiss German side, so we booked a new reservation and drove further into the mountains…

To be continued.

A Day in Dijon

Dijon was a quick pit stop for us. We both like mustard, and I wanted to try more burgundy-style food, so it made sense. We arrived in the afternoon and had to get some work done. The B&B Dijon Centre hotel was an easy location wth good wifi.

On the way to dinner, we did two quick mustard tastings at Maille Dijon and La Moutarderie Fallot. It was fun to try all the different kinds, but I learned that, unless you want something fancy or a personalized mustard jar, you can get a lot of the dijon mustards in the regular grocery store, so I didn’t end up buying anything.

Our dinner was just OK, and I don’t remember the name, so I won’t share it here. We both ordered off the house menu to try the boeuf bourgonion. It was good, but the service left a lot to be desired and the food took a really long time to come, considering we ordered something off the most common menu. Oh well, they let Bailey come inside with us, so that earns bonus points in my book.

After dinner, we walked around the city following the Owl Trail—emblems of little owls that lead you to important points in the city.

In the morning, I walked Bailey to the park, then we met up with Bryan to visit the Les Halles Market and out for brunch at Morning Glory Cafe.

And last but certainly not least, we took Bailey out for her own brunch at Touffu Pet Store, where she got to gobble up one specialty pup cup, complete with dried sardines, before we hit the road.

Then it was time to leave Dijon and take our journey to a new country…

Summer in France: Morvan

At this point, we made a major pivot from our original plan. When we first thought about doing a summer trip to France, we knew we wanted to spend most of the time on the southwestern coast, near Capbreton. But nature had other plans in mind.

This summer was one of the worst that France has experienced for heat waves and wildfires. There were major wildfires along the coast and close to Bordeaux around the exact same time that we were planning to stop in Bordeaux and continue our drive out to the coast.

It was hard to tell from the news websites exactly where the wildfires were located and how bad they were, but we knew that the air would be smoky and roads would be closed. We decided not to take our chances and made the last-minute decision to head east instead.

That’s how we ended up in Morvan.

This was the most remote and immersed-in-nature feeling of our trip. Morvan was full of beautiful, lush, green forests. We spent our time hiking the trails behind our guest house (Les 4 Saisons en Morvan), having picnics by the lake, and whitewater rafting.

We learned that Morvan is also an excellent place for whitewater rafting. National rafting teams from France and Europe actually come there to train and compete. We went with AN Rafting Morvan and had a great time. The class III and IV rapids were more intense than I was expecting. It was the perfect amount of thrills plus some milder sections that were fun and relaxing in between.

And I can’t write about Morvan without mentioning the cuisine. It’s part of the burgundy region, so we got to try amazing wine and food, like burgundy-style escargot, the usual charcuterie, and a delicious fresh trout lunch at Moulin Tala. On our last night we stumbled upon a really nice and really good wood-fired pizza placed called Pizza des Champs. We spent three days and nights in Morvan and enjoyed good food the entire time.

Cycling in the Loire Valley

From Paris, we drove about two hours south to the Loire Valley to the town of Tour-en-Sologne. We arrived in the evening to rest up for a cycling adventure the next day. We spent two nights at Logis Hotel du Chateau, and I would recommend it as a nice and easy place to stay with a dog.

In the morning, we drove into town for breakfast and found a market (there’s always a market in France!) We bought some fancy yogurt and ate it at a cute bakery nearby (with croissants and coffee, of course). We were loaded up and ready to ride.

We rented e-bikes from a lawnmower repair shop near our hotel. It may have been forbidden to ride with Bailey in the trailer like this, but the shop attendant didn’t ask any questions. When the owner came back and saw us riding away, we heard him yelling in French to the attendant, and we pedaled a little faster.

I’m not sure if Bailey enjoyed riding in the trailer. Sometimes she seemed like she liked it, when we were going fast and the road was smooth. She definitely did not like having the screen closed, so we tied her to the seat harness and kept it open. I think she would’ve liked a bigger carrier with a flat bottom (this one had a raised seat bench), so she could comfortably lie down. Bryan ended up riding behind us for emotional support, because she would cry if he got too far ahead.

We cycled about 12km to our first stop, the Chateau de Chambord. The path was a combination of roads, smooth dirt trails, and very bumpy dirt trails. It was beautiful cycling through the forest and felt like we could’ve spent a few more days there exploring different areas (maybe leaving Bailey back at the hotel).

We carried on our cycle tour and rode along the river. We found a cafe for lunch with a lovely view of the water, but they were only serving a limited menu. There’s usually a period each day in France, between about 2 and 5PM where most of the restaurants close and take a Spanish-style siesta. Unfortunately, that was the time when our cycling hunger hit the hardest, but we ordered some prepackaged ceasar salads and were able to refuel.

The paths by the river were less well-groomed and the deep tire ruts were not very accommodating to the trailer, so we decided not to push on further. We cycled back through the forest trails to the hotel for work and later had a mediocre dinner at a restaurant close by. Our meals in the Loire may have left a lot to be desired, but the cycling and scenery made the visit worthwhile.

Another Week in Paris

I was delighted to return to Paris for another week while Bryan was in London on his work trip. My friend Karina kindly offered for me and Bailey to stay at her place, so again I got to experience the city feeling like a local. She has a lovely apartment with a patio in the 11th arrondissement.

The first night of my stay overlapped with our friends Seth and Kerry again, so we agreed to meet up for dinner. Walking into the Montmartre neighborhood, I noticed that the streets and bars were packed with people. At first I thought it was something related to soccer, but then I realized they were all wearing Tour de France shirts and watching the race on TV. As I got closer, I saw barricades set up in the street. Apparently I had stumbled onto the course, where the cyclists had passed through only minutes earlier. At that point, they were racing towards the Champs-Élysées to finish the race. It was exciting to see the crowds and to know that, if I were more tuned into world sporting events, I could’ve even seen the race!

I was glad I left Bailey at home since things were a little crazy in the streets as the race was ending:

I found Seth and Kerry, and we sat outside induldging in French onion soup (it’s just onion soup here), beef bourgignon, and goat cheese salad.

Then we walked up to one of my favorite places in Paris, the Sacré Couer, for a glimpse of the sunset and moonrise.

It was good to see friends again. They were heading off to Germany, so we said goodnight, and I settled into my solo (with a dog) week in Paris.

Dog Friendly Activities

Bailey and I continued seeking out dog-friendly activities in the city, and we found some great ones.

Coulée Verte

Paris has a 4.5km path that takes you up above the city (I learned that it was the model for the highline in NYC), through lush gardens and green spaces, and under tunnels. It gets you fully in touch with nature, and it’s dog friendly. Just make sure to check the entry and exit points to know where you can access the trail.

Bois de Vincennes & Chateau de Vincennes

The Coulée Verte leads all the way to the Vincennes forest, the largest green space in Paris, where there are loads of trails to walk with your dog. We walked through the forest and caught a glimpse of the Chateau de Vincennes. I was originally thinking of staying out in this area, but it was a lot quieter with less to do, and I was glad I chose to stay in Paris.

Le Bone Appart

We made a return visit to Bailey’s favorite dog cafe, Le Bone Appart. She found a lot of dog friends to play with and enjoyed a croissant-shaped cookie.

Canal Saint-Martin

We didn’t spend a lot of time here, but it was a nice place to walk with Bailey, and I’d like to revisit it someday. Apparently people even go swimming in the canal when the weather is hot.

Humans-only Activities

Food Tour

I’m not sure if you really need to go on a food tour in Paris, because it’s so easy to find amazing meals and snacks everywhere. Just pop into any bakery or restaurant. But I had an Airbnb discount, so I booked a lunchtime tour with No Diet Club (a great name, by the way). It ended up being more like a walking tour with snacks along the way, which was nice for not feeling too stuffed. And I got to try some foods that I wouldn’t have found on my own, like falafel and the most incredible cream puffs (choupettes de chouchou) and raspberry-pistachio macarons.

59 Rivoli

After the food tour, I had a little bit of time left before work, so I stopped by 59 Rivoli, a six-story working art gallery on a main shopping street in Paris. The entire building is a creative masterpiece, from the quirky exterior to the painted staircases inside. There was so much to see in every room on every floor, and some of the artists were there working, so you could say hello.

Later that day, it was time for Bryan to pick me up and carry on our own Tour de France.

Until next time, Paris.

Summer in France: Le Mans

Le Mans was not part of our original itinerary. We would’ve like to stay in Brittany a little longer, but Bryan found out that his work team would be having an offsite in London, so we needed to pivot. That meant heading back to Paris for the flight. I was happy to do it, since I could never complain about extra time in Paris. We split up the drive by staying in Le Mans.

Le Mans is best known for the 24-hour driving circuit race (though I did not know about that). However, we found it to be a charming small city with a lot to offer apart from the race. It has a very well-preserved medieval old town and a stunning cathedral that is one of the largest in France.

We stayed at the Mercure Hotel in a room with this lovely patio:

And we had one of the most delicious and memorable meals of the trip (which is saying a lot since there were many delicious and memorable meals on this trip) at La Baraque a Boeuf. The beef was amazing. I ordered a starter salad as a break from all the meat, bread, and cheese, but I learned that in France they sometimes also add meat, bread, and cheese to the salad.

That evening, we discovered that the Nuit des Chimeres was happening, which is when all of the historic landmarks in the city serve as projector screens for an artistic light show. We waited until nightfall—pretty late when the sun sets around 10pm—and followed the trail of lights to see the displays throughout the city. It was a mix of really impressive video and still projections. Some were serious and some were silly:

In the morning, we walked through the old town and visited the inside of the cathedral. Then it was time to make the drive back to Paris so Bryan could make his flight and I could enjoy a few more days in the city.

Summer in France: Brittany

We knew we wanted to visit Brittany during this trip, but we weren’t exactly sure where we wanted to go. When we found out that our friends Seth and Kerry from back home were going to be in Carnac and the Quiberon Peninsula, we decided to overlap. We ended up loving Brittany! The Breton culture is slightly different from other parts of France, so we enjoyed experiencing another region.

Carnac

Our first stop in Brittany was the coastal town of Carnac. It was probably our least-nice hotel of the trip, since it was basically just four white walls and a bed with very little space around it. And the wifi was just barely strong enough for a Zoom call, so I had to do my calls from my hotspot on the outdoor patio in the day and night. But most visitors don’t come there to work, and the town itself was quite charming.

There was a very big and very nice market in the morning across from our hotel. I wish I had more time to browse, but we’d already made plans to meet our friends at the menhirs—the alignments of prehistoric stones for which Carnac is best known, kind of like a Stonehenge of Brittany.

We walked through rows and rows of the stones, taking our best guesses at what their purpose was back in prehistoric times. We walked through the forest, too, plucking wild blackberries straight from the bush for a snack.

Afterwards, it was time for a beachfront picnic and a dip in the sea. I thought the water was suprisingly warm compared to July in New Jersey.

For dinner, we ate mussels on the promenade and then ran into a reggae concert. We’re used to going to summer concerts together back home, so this was a welcome substitute.

Then it was time to bid adieu to our friends, hoping our paths would cross again along our separate journeys through France. And we set off for a new part of Brittany.

Penmarch

As we headed further west, the beaches became more rugged and the crowds less touristic.

We stayed at a nice bayfront hotel (Les Ondines). The town was quiet, and we enjoyed our peaceful morning and evening walks along the water. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any swell to surf, so we found ourselves venturing out to sample the Breton cuisine. Crepes and cider became obvious favorites. We liked both the sweet and savory crepe varieties from Creperie Amzer Zo. We also tried Far Breton—a prune cake, which sounds weird but I l loved it—and kouign-amann— sweet rolls from a really nice bakery (Boulangerie Du Phare).

On our walk back to the hotel, we saw that they were setting up for some kind of festival. There was a Surfrider Foundation booth—an organization that Bryan used to volunteer with, so we went over and talked to them. We learned that there would be a summer music festival later that night.

We decided to return later on, and we were treated to an awesome summer music festival (Kerity Summer Party)! There were three bands and a DJ set. We had a great time listening to Petit K, and then we were blown away by the punk rock music and bagpipes from Leex. It was an incredible show! It was cool to see an event that felt truly local. We were too old and tired to stay for the DJ set, so we headed back to the hotel and said goodnight to Brittany.

Summer in France: Giverny

We celebrated our four-year anniversary in Giverny. It was about an hour and fifteen minute drive from CDG airport. We arrived to the loveliest guest house (La Réserve) in the afternoon, and we were welcomed with a tray of snacks and homemade cider.

Bailey made fast friends in the backyard with the very large household dog. She liked running around the property and spent the stay getting to know different farm animals. The cows and pigs were amicable; the goat and donkey were not.

We had our anniversary dinner at La Musardiere. The food was so flavorful and fresh—I had smoke trout rillettes, a ceviche-style fish with watermelon and peanut lime sauce, and a strawberry pavlova for dessert. The flowery garden was the perfect, peaceful ambiance for a romantic anniversary evening. They even a special flower bouquet for the table.

The next day, after enjoying the hotel’s wonderful breakfast, we set out for Claude Monet’s house and gardens. This year marked the 100th anniversary of his passing. We decided that it might have been better to come during the 99th year, because number 100 has made the gardens extremely popular and full of visitors. But in spite of the crowds, it didn’t take us too long to get into the gardens or the main house, and we enjoyed walking through the flowers and lily ponds and checking out the art pieces in the house.

Giverny was a beautiful and luxurious two-night visit. Thanks to Bryan for planning the perfect stay!

Summer in France: Paris

Bailey and I made it all the way to France! I think I’ll write a separate post on the process of getting over here, since that’s another story in itself. But we landed early in the morning, after Bailey held her pee for about 13 hours straight. What a trooper. We took an Uber Pet straight to our Airbnb for early check in.

This was my third visit to Paris, so I had hit a lot of the main tourist attractions before. This trip was more about finding dog-friendly activities, trying a few new things, and hanging out with my friend, Karina, who has been living in Paris for about six years. I found the perfect Airbnb in the Jourdain neighborhood. It was quieter and off the beaten path, so it let me feel like a local while still having easy access to public transportation. It was nice having a kitchen to cook my own meals and a communal patio to eat outside.

On our first day, Bailey and I met Karina at the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont and caught up over drinks and snacks at The Puebla Pavilion. The park ended up being one of my favorite places to walk with Bailey during the trip. It’s a huge, beautiful green space with lots of trails and spaces to lounge. Afterwards, I stocked up at the grocery store, ate dinner at home, and called it an early night to try to ward off my jet lag.

I needed the rest to prepare for the holiday ahead. Bastille Day was approaching, and Karina let me know that celebrations usually happen the day prior. We’d been planning to attend the Firemen’s Balls, when the local fire stations open up at night for music, drinking, and dancing, but unfortunately they were canceled this year due to the intense heat wave.

Instead, Bailey and I started the day with a long walk to Le Bone Appart, a dog cafe that became another one of our favorite stops on the trip. It’s a little shop with coffee and treats for humans and dogs. They have French-themed toys and berets for sale, and there are usually plenty of dogs and dog-friendly humans to play with. Bailey recommends the VIP pup cup.

Later that day, we met up with Karina and friends at the Square du Vert-Galant for a picnic. Bailey braved the metro with her mandatory muzzle, then it was a gorgeous walk along the Seine to get down there.

We feasted on charcuterie, then trekked back to the Airbnb to feed and drop off Bailey for the evening. We had a Bastille Day boat party to attend. Karina and I rented city bikes to race back to the river in time for the boat’s departure.

We made it just in time and set off for a sunset river tour of Paris, DJ, drinks, and dancing. Once it got dark, we were treated to one of the best fireworks displays I’ve ever seen, a drone show, and the twinkling and sparkling Eiffel Tower herself. It felt like a truly special experience to be there for the celebration.

The return boat ride was interesting, since the police closed the Seine due to traffic, and our boat captain said we might not be able to leave until 4am. I was slightly panicking with Bailey at home and my tired, jet-lagged body stuck on the boat. I attempted to go with the flow, holding onto the railing to support myself, and we ended up getting back by 2 AM, two hours later than planned. Bailey was sleeping soundly at home when I arrived.

The next day I slept in as late as having a dog would allow. We had a pretty lazy day of lounging before I worked. In the evening, I met up with friends to watch France play Spain in the World Cup. As you can see from the subdued crowd, it was sadly not a victory.

At that point, Paris was still in a heat wave, and my apartment had no AC. I trekked around the city looking for a fan. Most of them were insanely marked up, since the city had run out of fans during the last heat wave. I finally found one (for an outrageous 37 euros!), and when I got it home learned that I would have to assemble it myself. It was simple enough, but I didn’t have a screw driver to do the final tightening of the frame. In spite of the shaking and rattling, Bailey and I got some relief. The apartment wasn’t too terribly hot, since French buildings are designed to stay cool, and the people have a system of leaving the shutters and windows closed all day until the temperature drops below 80 F, then opening them for a breeze through night and morning.

That worked pretty well, but the Parisians like to stay out late, so opening my windows through the night made it difficult to sleep with street noise. I got into a routine of staying up late until the air cooled down, waking up early for Bailey, and taking sticky afternoon naps on the couch with the fan running full blast.

Day four was my biggest tourism day. I took the train into the city center to visit the Musee de L’Orangerie and see Claude Monet’s water lilies. I didn’t reserve my slot in advance, so I waited about forty-five minutes, which wasn’t too bad, other than that I chose to wear pants in the July heat. The room with the water lilies painting was small but lovely and impressive.

Downstairs, there is a bigger collection of paintings by Paul Cezanne and Henri Rousseau that makes the whole experience really worth it.

I was in the center of it all. I visited the Louvre years ago and found it overwhelming, but I enjoyed walking along the promendade.

In my previous visits, the inside of Notre-Dame was closed, so that was a priority stop this time. The line (still hot!) moved quickly, and I was in and out of the beautiful cathedral in no time at all.

I headed back to walk Bailey through the mosaics of the Belleville neighborhood to find a view of the Eiffel Tower at a distance. Then I had my first and most delicious croque monsieur of the trip at La gueule enfarinée. It’s been awesome to find that dogs are welcomed outside and even inside of almost every restaurant in France.

My interrrupted sleep schedule caught up with me the next morning. I’d booked a croissant-making class that started at nine, knowing it would take an hour to get there on public transportation. I either slept through or turned off my alarm, and woke up startled at exactly eight. There wouldn’t be time to do dog chores and make the train. So I texted the organizer that I would be late, quickly looped Bailey around the block and fed her, then grabbed a last-minute Uber to somehow arrive to the class on time.

Luckily, there was a steady flow of coffee in the classroom. In the expertly-led workshop at Maison Fleuret, we learned to prepare, fold, and shape the dough to make the perfect croissants, pain au chocolat, and pain aux raisins. I hope I can replicate my newfound skills at home, but if not, at least I had some yummy treats for the rest of the week.

That night, I met up with Karina and her boyfriend for a documentary movie at a bar and outdoor cinema (La Recyclerie). The venue was amazing—they’ve built these garden bars on the old abandon train tracks throughout the city. Of course, the documentary was in French and the visuals weren’t very appealing, so for my sake, we only stayed for half, then headed back to the bar to have some beers. We went out in the city afterwards, but I departed early to get back to Bailey and try to fix my sleep schedule.

On my last day in the city, Karina met me at the Saint-Ouen flea market. We walked through the massive assortment of antiques and thrifty items that wrap through rows and rows. I wished I had a french home to decorate, because there were so many cool, vintage finds.

Afterwards, we met up with another of her friends who is a fellow world traveler and exchanged stories at a diferent garden bar along the old railroad tracks.

That night, the three of us had dinner at my favorite brasserie in Paris (well, maybe the only one I know, but it’s really good!): Brasserie Bellanger. The beef tartare (with frites, of course) and paris brest for dessert were outstanding.

Then suddenly, it was my last day. I learned by the last night once the heat wave cooled off that if I kept the windows closed, I could sleep much better through the night. A major shout out to Miliki Cafe for keeping me caffeinated through the week and for brunch on the last day.

It was time to meet Bryan at the airport for the next phase of our French adventure…

Three Places to Visit in Bulgaria

To start this year, we took a trip to Bulgaria. I’ve already written a post about skiing in Bansko, so I won’t include that here. But we spent about a week visiting three other places that I’ll talk about in this post: Sofia, the Rila Monastery, and Plovdiv.

Our flights and all of our travels were in and out of Sofia. We found that this made the most sense since we were relying on public transportation instead of renting a car. It was usually more time efficient to return to Sofia than to take trains between places. We flew into Sofia, took a private taxi to Bansko, then came back to Sofia for a couple of nights. Next, we did a day tour to the Rila Monastery and later took the train to Plovdiv. Going back and forth to Sofia might not have been the most sensible itinerary looking at a map, but it matched with the train schedules and what we wanted to do with our days off work.

Sofia

We spent about four nights in Sofia in total. On the surface, it wasn’t too much different from other western European cities, with modern cafes, international cuisines, landmarks, museums, and things to do. But on my last day, I took a free walking tour that revealed the rich history of the city. There were layers leftover from the Romans and the Ottomans that create a really interesting blend of architecture and ruins. It snowed that day, and it was pretty to see the city dressed in white—though I was completely frozen!

We were a little lazy about going out to eat in Sofia because we’d gone out a lot in Bansko, so we got takeout a few times and even tried the McDonalds (we don’t usually eat American fast food, but we like to see the unique items in other countries!) I have to say, it was our best international McDonalds yet. I also ate at 718 Breakfast & Brunch twice in one day since my Bulgarian coworker recommended it, and it was a nice cozy shelter from the snow.

Our Airbnb was so nice, we almost never wanted to leave it:

We also visit the Red Flat, a museum/apartment decorated to show what everyday life was like in communist Bulgaria. The household actually didn’t seem too different from growing up in the late 80’s or early 90’s in the U.S.—there was a rotary phone and a vinyl record player for the Gen Z-ers to wonder about. The main things that were different were the travel restrictions and work policies.

Bulgaria has gone through some tough times since the fall of communism, and it was apparent in some parts of Sofia. Areas like the train station were really run down and there was graffiti everywhere. But for the most part, it was similar to other European cities I’ve visited and it was interesting to learn the history and see the leftover relics of time.

Rila Monastery

From Sofia, we took a day tour to visit the beautiful Rila Monastery, which also included a stop at the much smaller Boyana Church. It was about a 2 hour bus ride from Sofia, stopping at the small church along the way:

It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but there are some very old and beautiful images painted on the inside.

After a short stop, we headed to the Rila Monastery. On our tour, we learned about the monastery’s operations and history throughout the centuries. It’s still active and you can even stay there as a hotel (we chose to return to our nice warm Airbnb in Sofia!)

The paintings around the outside of the main church are amazing:

The striped arches reminded me of visiting the Cordoba Cathedral in Spain. You’re not supposed to take photos inside the church, but it was quite ornate and impressive. We took the audio tour to learn more about each area of the monastery.

However, as much as I enjoy learning about history and beautiful churches, my favorite part of the whole experience was waiting just outside the monastery… at the bakery! We sampled some of the best of Bulgarian cuisine, mekitsas, which are basically fried dough with jam and powdered sugar. Yum!

There was an option to hike to a cave, but we skipped it due to the cold weather and had lunch at one of the two small restaurants nearby. Then we headed back to Sofia on our tour bus.

Plovdiv

I think Plovdiv ended up being both of our favorite stops on the trip. It’s a slightly smaller and more slowed down city than Sofia.

We took the train from Sofia. Here’s our first class car:

The weather was better for us here than in Bansko or Sofia. Even though it was January, the temperatures were pretty mild and in the 50s Fahrenheit. Our Airbnb was almost as nice as the one in Sofia, and it had a balcony:

We took a free walking tour that revealed more of Bulgaria’s layers of history. Plovdiv is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in Europe. You can see more ruins of the Roman Empire under modern city streets. And an amphitheater that’s still in operation for summer concerts:

We ventured out of our Airbnb this time and tried a few restaurants. My favorite was Aylyakria gastrobar, where we tried tarator yogurt and cucumber soup. It was tasty.

Overall, I thought Plovdiv was a much more charming and unique city than Sofia, and I’m glad we had the chance to spend some time there.

All things considered, we had mixed feelings about Bulgaria… Parts were very run down or stuck in the past, but other parts were a beautiful expression of the country’s history. I want to see as much of the world as I can, so of course it was worth it to see a new place and experience a different culture. If you’re interested in history or experiencing this part of the word, then I definitely think these three places are worth the trip.

Skiing in Bansko, Bulgaria

To ring in 2026, we spend New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day skiing in Bansko, Bulgaria. I have to start off by saying, I learned about Bansko from a travel podcast that recommended it as a great place to ski that hadn’t been discovered by tourists yet. After visiting, I can safely say that Bansko has very much been discovered by very many tourists!

The ski area was quite crowded, which of course can be expected for ski areas that week after Christmas. Overall, it was less crowded than most ski areas in the US would have been, with hardly any lift lines apart from the main gondola that takes you from town to the ski area. The beginner trails were packed with people and it was hard to find a seat at lunch, but the top of the mountain was emptier and more spread out. The lift tickets were also cheaper than they would have been in the US, coming in at around $65 per day.

We rented clothing and equipment from BSR Ski Rent. The skis and boots were pretty decent, but the jackets and snow pants had seen better days. We got spoiled last year in Japan with their amazing organization systems and high quality rental gear, so we came in with high expectations. Bulgaria, as you might expect, was not so organized as Japan, but we got some skis, boots, and clothing for about $25 and only reserved a couple of days in advance. I don’t think they actually track the reservation system and instead just see what they have when you get there, but our friend “Bob” from Bansko got us set up with what we needed, save for a few rips and tears and limited selection. We brought goggles, hats, and gloves from home, which were all very needed since temperatures were in the single digits (Fahrenheit)!

We stayed in an apartment at the Belvedere Holiday Club, which also had some pros and cons. It was a little overpriced for Bulgaria (at just under $200 a night), but on the other hand, where in the US can you stay walking distance to the lifts for that price? When we arrived, our room had not yet been cleaned from the previous guests—that’s the first time that’s ever happened to me with an Airbnb type of place! But it was an easy fix, and our host had it rectified in under an hour. They made up for it by leaving a bottle of prosecco to celebrate the new year.

The ski area was unique, since you walk to a gondola in town and then the gondola brings you to the base area to take other lifts. At the end of the day, there’s a long ski road to get all the way down into town. I’m not sure if Bryan had fun, since the trails were icy and crowded, but for me, it was enjoyable to get to see what skiing is like in another country.

We were also walking distance from the restaurants in town, so we tried a few places for dinner. The House was nice and cozy for traditional food and Alpen was a deliciously memorable Italian meal. We found that a lot of places would turn you away without a reservation, even if they looked completely empty, so it’s best to book in advance. Generally, Bulgarian food was delicious, with a lot of barbecued meats, fresh veggies, and really good bread. There were slim pickings for breakfast, so if you’re thinking about opening a breakfast cafe or coffee shop—you might find a market in Bansko. We either grabbed protein bars from the convenience store or skipped breakfast altogether, but Station had good omelettes on our last day.

The little town was quaint and peaceful with nice views of the mountains. New Year’s Eve was pretty subdued for us, but there was some live music and dancing at the restaurant we went to for dinner, and we saw a lot of fireworks going off at night.

On January 2nd, we were done with skiing and booked a day at the spa. We chose Pulse Therme in Banya because they have a brand new location with lots of baths and saunas to choose from. There were some issues with our arrival, because as we arrived the electricity went out, so the spa was closed. They brought us to their other location back in Bansko, but as soon as we got there, they told us the electricity had come back on at the first location and that it would be much less crowded. So we went back, and it was still extremely crowded! But after all the back and forth, we settled in, used the gym, and bopped around to all the baths, pools, steam rooms, rain rooms, and saunas that we could fit into our four-hour visit. It was a nice spa, besides being overcrowded, and I’m not sure if it was due to the electrical issue, but the hot tubs were more warm than hot.

That was all for our three days in Bansko. As you can tell, there were some ups and downs, but overall it was a unique experience and new place to ring in the new year. Happy trails!

**It’s a privilege getting to ski in other countries. I make sure I’m covered with affordable and reliable travel medical insurance in case anything goes wrong. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including skiing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.

Recap: Portugal, Spain, France Surf & Road Trip

We’re back in New Jersey now, so I have more time to recap our whole trip. We spent six weeks in July and August 2025 traversing the coast of Portugal, parts of Spain, and a quick dip into France. This was technically a “surf trip” in that we brought surfboards, but we weren’t expecting much for waves in Europe in the summer. We were pleasantly surprised! Most of the spots we found had at least a little bit of surf. Sometimes the wind was strong, but we made it work and were pretty happy with what we got.

We divided the trip into two parts, because our credit card rental car insurance has a max of 31 days, so we knew we would need to come back to Lisbon mid trip. That worked out well, and I would highly recommend either of these road trip routes. I think you would need a full month to do the first part. We spent 2-3 nights in each place, and we definitely could have spent longer, but I don’t think we could’ve done it in any less time and still enjoyed ourselves the same. We’ve determined that three nights is the ideal minimum stay to truly enjoy a place when you’re road tripping around. The second part of the trip on the southern coast of Portugal could probably be done in any amount of time. It’s a beautiful place, but I’m not sure if we would go back again in August, if given the choice, because of the crowds.

Here’s a list of the places we stopped and stayed:

Part One:

• Ericeira

• Peniche/Baleal

• Nazaré & Praia de Mira

• Porto

• Salinas

• San Sebastian & Zarautz

• Bordeaux & Saint-Émilion

• Capbreton

• Salamanca

• Cascais

Part Two:

• Aljezur

• Sagres

• Burgau & Praia da Luz

• Alvor

• Vila Nova de Milfontes

• Lisbon

And a map of the whole route:

Some other details: We flew in and out of Lisbon airport on American Airlines, and we luckily didn’t have any trouble with the boards in a 7’6” board bag that actually measured a bit too long for their baggage limits. We worked remotely the entire time, and the only place we ran into any issues with wifi was in Alvor, which is pretty deep into the Algarve region.

Overall, it was a lot of driving and moving around, but I’m so glad we did it the way we did. We really got to see some amazing places, and it was a perfect mix of surf, nature, and culture. It was a really nice trip and one that will provide great memories for many years to come!

Thanks for following along on the journey.

Namaste,

Cori

**It’s always a privilege getting to surf in other countries. I make sure I’m always covered with affordable and reliable travel medical insurance in case anything goes wrong. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including surfing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.

Portugal Road Trip: Last Stop in Lisbon

We finally reached the end of the road. And I’m very sorry to tell you, I didn’t take many photos on our last night in Lisbon. It was a busy day.

We woke up in Vila Nova de Milfontes and ate Tomas’ delicious breakfast one more time. Then we went for quite a fun surf. After that, it was about a two hour drive to Lisbon.

We stayed at a hotel near the airport that was pretty convenient (Le Jardin Lisbon). And we tried to clean the intense amounts of dust and dirt off the rental car with a large water bottle.

We were still working—hence not many photos, but we took a break to go into the city for dinner. We found the most amazing Portuguese vegan restaurant (Kong).

They make all the typical Portuguese dishes—bacalhau a bras, octopus, pasteis de nata…—and everything is vegan! We’re not vegan, but we like eating vegan food, and it was awesome. We started with some “sausage” croquette appetizers, and then I had these yummy seitan ribs:

We skipped dessert at the restaurant, because it was time for our last round of pasteis de nata. We went to Manteigaria and bought a dozen to bring back home.

And that was a wrap on six weeks of Portugal, Spain, and France! It was a really fun trip, filled with food, surf, new places, different languages, and an exploration of whether we’d want to try to do a longer term stay in Portugal or somewhere nearby in Europe. After all, I’d say the answer is a definite yes.

Portugal Road Trip: Vila Nova de Milfontes

We saved some of the best accommodations for last! At this point we were nearing the end of the tip and kind of tired from changing locations every 2-3 nights. We knew we wanted to check out Vila Nova de Milfontes based on the surf forecast, but all the places left to stay were looking like duds. I probably would have given up and stayed anywhere at that point. But Bryan never gives up. He kept checking and refreshing booking websites until a diamond appeared in the rough. Apparently, someone had canceled last minute and there was an opening at a beautiful house called Casa do Lado.

We left the tiny streets of Alvor and headed back to the west coast, stopping at a nice beach bar for lunch on the way.

After about a two hour total drive, we made it to Milfontes. I had to work right away (are you sensing a theme here?), but the room was luxurious. It was nice on its own, but it was extra nice after coming from a journey of shared bathrooms and kitchens and sometimes single beds. There was a fruit bowl, tea, and glass water bottle in the room, for goodness sake. It felt like all of our needs had been accounted for.

In the morning, Thomas the owner (with his sister Mariana) served us an amazing breakfast in the garden.

It was a lot to eat before surfing, but we were not about to pass up such a wonderful breakfast! Then we got lucky and found some fun waves.

It was a Saturday, so we spent the rest of the day exploring some nearby surf spots and the town of Porto Covo.

We surfed a couple days, and the one day there weren’t any waves, we went for a coastal hike to a secret beach.

At night, we found a few nice places to eat—a really good vegan spot, a casual pub, and, on our last night, a highly recommended seafood restaurant.

One night, walking back through the town, everyone was out and about and we came across both a clown show and a musical performance in the streets. It was fun to see everyone out and about on a summer night.

I definitely started to feel like Milfontes should be added to the list of places we could stay longer term. I hope to make it back again someday!

Portugal Road Trip: Alvor

The next stop on our southern Portugal portion of the road trip took us even further into the Algarve. We left Sally’s guest house and peaceful patio for the great unknown of European tourism in August.

And we stopped for a bifana (pork sandwich) on the way:

We arrived in Alvor and navigated the tiny narrow streets up to our next guest house. It was a tight squeeze, but we were blessed by the parking gods and unloading the car wasn’t too difficult.

I had to work right away, but later we took a break for dinner in town. Alvor is definitely a heavily vacationed town with a busy strip of restaurants and souvenir shops. We grabbed sushi and walked down to the water just in time for sunset.

I’m in the midst of planning a work event in Australia, so there were some late night calls that week, but the work view wasn’t too bad:

One of the main reasons we wanted to stay in Alvor was to be close to the Benagil cave. And since we were so close, we decided to wake up early one morning for a cave kayaking tour.

How cool! We went into the most well-known Benagil cave with its circular skylight, then paddled around a few other darker caves. And we stopped on a nice beach.

A lot of other tourists were doing the same thing at the same time, so it was quite busy! But overall, kayaking was a nice way to spend the morning.

Afterwards we found a really great spot for breakfast (Earth Shop & Cafe), headed back to work, and at night went out for Portuguese-Mexican food.

That was all for our short and sweet time in Alvor.

Portugal Road Trip: Burgau & Praia da Luz

At this point in the trip, we were flying by the seats of our pants when it came to accommodation. We thought about taking a flight to another European country when we were back in Lisbon exchanging the car, but flights were expensive and that would have meant another trip to plan and missing out on a lot of southern Portugal.

So, we decided to stay and dive deeper into the Algarve.

We got extremely lucky and found an amazing place to stay. It was a bed and breakfast in Praia da Luz owned by a friendly and funny British woman (Salsalito Guest House).

The property was gorgeous and came with a lovely breakfast every morning. We knew there wouldn’t be any chance of waves for surfing, so it was the perfect place to relax and recharge.

Of course I was missing my puppy back home, and as a bonus, the B&B had two very nice dogs.

During the days we worked on the patio, I did some yoga by the pool, and we got the most incredible massages.

At night, we walked into the quaint fishing village of Burgau and found two great restaurants (Miam & A Barraca.)

We also took one night to go into Lagos for an outdoor cinema event. We watched Forrest Gump with wine and popcorn at the marina.

As it turns out, sometimes not planning is the best plan. It leaves room for wonderful surprises of where you might end up.

Portugal Road Trip: Sagres

If we were going to stay longer term in Portugal, Sagres would definitely be a top contender of location for me.

It’s a small town, but it’s one where we could have a not-too-different life full of the things we enjoy. This time, we went to yoga, visited our favorite coffee shop (Laundry Lounge), and even made a friend.

For surf, we’d have access to the south and west coasts. The south coast is flat this time of year, but we drove less than 30 minutes back up to Carrapateira for a few waves.

We also visited the “end of the old world”:

And found a seagull eating a sausage!

Our Airbnb guest house was nice— another fairly private apartment with its own terrace and a shared kitchen. The owner had a cat that he kept on a leash after it had escaped and gotten hurt too many times. Here’s Gato:

One night, we were driving home from dinner and stumbled upon a band playing rock music on a big stage. We parked the car and walked over, and it turned out to be a free concert in the park with Xutos & Pentapes, a famous Portuguese rock band from the 80s. We didn’t know the words, but everyone was singing along and we were very impressed!

It was a short visit, but just like last time, I think I’ll see Sagres again.

Portugal Road Trip: Cascais

It was a long and hot two days drive back through the middle of Spain, but things cooled off once we got back to the coast of Portugal. We’ve both been to Lisbon a couple of times, so we decided to change it up and stay in nearby Cascais for this quick visit.

A lot of Americans have been moving to Portugal in general over the last few years and many of them to Lisbon and Cascais. Our guest house hostess didn’t seem too happy about her town being overrun with American expats, but she was still very nice to us visitors. And lucky for us, her house was a very cool place to stay. It was a three-story, old Portuguese home with seven bedrooms, but we didn’t run into too many other guests.

When we first arrived, the weather conditions were extremely windy. You can tell from the number of kite surfers:

But on the second day, the winds calmed down a little and we were able to surf a bit at Praia do Guincho. It was really foggy and—I discovered—rocky, but we had a pretty good time.

At night, we ventured into downtown Cascais, which sort of has a vibe like it could be plucked from southern California. There were certainly a lot of expats and English speakers from all over. The second night we stayed more local and closer to our guest house and had some really delicious tapas and spareribs at Pateo do Petisco Torre.

Next, it was off to return the rental car and commence the second part of our trip.

**It’s always a privilege getting to surf in other countries. I make sure I’m always covered with affordable and reliable travel medical insurance in case anything goes wrong. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including surfing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.

Chasing Waves in Capbreton

The only thing better than France in a city, like Paris or Bordeaux, is France with a beach! Our next stop on this Portugal, Spain, and France road trip was Capbreton. It ended up being a favorite for both of us.

We stayed for three nights and surfed at Santocha bay. The surf was very crowded, but one day was clean and fun, and I managed to catch a perfect wave between the crowds.

The break was really neat because there are leftover WWII bunkers on the beach. On the last day, my leash broke while paddling out, so I got the feeling of arriving on shore like I was going to war.

Capbreton was probably the best place to break a leash, because there are a ton of surf shops near Hossegor, including the coolest one I’ve ever seen, with its own coffee and barber shop and a revolving display of boards:

The town was also really lovely. Our guesthouse (a slightly grown up hostel with private rooms and friendly owners) backed up to the main street with a summer night market. We walked along the river into town for dinners and to the beach.

We found a healthy vegan restaurant (Monkey Mood) and a yummy fish fry (SO’FISH).

On our last night, we ate a massive bowl of mussels at a beachfront restaurant (Nina Cafe) and I forgot to take a photo, but the view was impeccable:

We got our fix of American-style breakfast tacos & burritos at the Pacific Coast Cafe in Hossegor, and on our last day I got another taste of my favorite pastry. I think I might try my hand at making them when I get home.

As we were heading out, I popped my head into the cutest bookstore and cafe in town.

We were sad to leave France, but our time in Capbreton was both memorable and delicious!

**It’s always a privilege getting to surf in other countries. I make sure I’m always covered with affordable and reliable travel medical insurance in case anything goes wrong. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including surfing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.

Portugal/Spain Road Trip: Salinas

At this point, our Portugal road trip started to transition into a Spain road trip. The next stop was another city where I had no idea what to expect.

Salinas is a little town in the Asturias region of northern Spain. From what I read, I thought we’d land in a sleepy, old-fashioned village, with a few families enjoying their local beach.

But we arrived to something totally different. The beaches and parking spots were jam-packed, even more than the usual European summer crowds. That’s when we put the pieces together that we’d arrived on the last day of the Salinas International Longboard Festival, a popular surf competition!

It was nearing the end of the day, so we scored a lucky parking spot and went out to surf. Salinas is a big beach break, so there was plenty of space to spread out away from the competition. The waves were too big for me that first day (like they are most days), but I paddled out and managed to survive long enough to ride on my belly back in.

Our room had a view of the ocean, in a nearby part of town. The Asturias region is also known for its food (of course.) We tried some new things, like cachopo, which is two thin slices of meat with cheese and ham in between (La Sidreria had so many varieties to choose from.) Plus a big crepe filled with whipped cream for dessert (not pictured!) And one of my favorite breakfasts that Bryan tried for the first time, Spanish tortilla, which is made of eggs and more like a frittata.

By the third day, most of the pro long boarders had left, and I think I worked up my courage enough to catch a couple of waves.

We also stumbled upon a cool-looking campground area at Xago beach:

Then it was time to carry on our journey across Spain.

**It’s always a privilege getting to surf in other countries. I make sure I’m always covered with affordable and reliable travel medical insurance in case anything goes wrong. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including surfing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.