• Romania

    Bucharest

    July 17, 2016 - By 

    Romania’s shining star is Transylvania, making it unnecessary to spend too much time in Bucharest. When I told a couple of Romanians we were entering Romania by way of Bucharest, one man smiled and responded, “Don’t spend too much time there.” We didn’t plan on to anyway. Like Sofia, Bucharest is a massive, sprawling, and thriving city bursting with malls, restaurants, cafes, bars, and numerous architecturally beautiful buildings. I even managed to stumble upon a Vietnamese fast food joint in the food court of Promenada Mall. I never imagined I’d find a Vietnamese restaurant in any European mall, never mind in Romania!…

  • Bulgaria

    The Black Sea

    July 13, 2016 - By 

    Silly me, I thought the Black Sea would be, you know, black.  Clearly, it’s not.  Its waters are crystal clear and warm, with low salinity to boot! I knew the Black Sea coast wouldn’t even compare to the glittering Mediterranean coast, but I couldn’t travel through Bulgaria without experiencing the locals’ favorite summer destination.  After all, a part of why I travel is to see how other people live. I read that the north coast was littered with uncreative beach resorts that offered little to the independent traveller, while on the other hand the southern coast was more beautiful.  Well,…

  • Bulgaria

    Sofia & Plovdiv

    July 11, 2016 - By 

    I find the major, capital cities of Europe (Paris, Rome, Madrid, Athens to name a few) to be chaotic and poisoned with large tour groups, but I had a slight feeling that Sofia and Plovdiv would be different.  I was right.  We loved Bulgaria’s largest, capital city of Sofia. The second largest city of Plovdiv wasn’t so bad either. Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana was adorable and quaint, but lacked the “big city life” feel. Due to drab reviews, we passed on Croatia’s capital Zagreb.  Montenegro’s capital Podgorica was simply depressing, playing on the stereotype of the gray and sterile post-Communist era of…

  • Bulgaria

    Rila – Our Intro to Bulgaria

    July 8, 2016 - By 

    Rila meant a few things for us: Our first day in Bulgaria Our return to the Balkans Rila Monastery, one of Bulgaria’s most visited sites Rila Seven Lakes, a justifiable popular hike I’d like to add more details to numbers 1 and 2.  Crossing a new border (into the Balkans) and entering a new country (into the Balkans) is not for people looking for a relaxing vacation.  Frustrating situations and uncommon instances unlike Western Europe are what make travel in Eastern Europe appealing anyway…we like to call this adventure!  Within our first several hours of arriving to Bulgaria we learned the following: If you…

  • Greece

    Mount Olympus

    July 7, 2016 - By 

    Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that Mt. Olympus was a mountain of great mythological significance. Mythology claimed that 11 of the 12 major Greek gods lived within the mountain’s 8 peaks, with the peak of Stefani as Zeus’s throne and the peak of Mytikas (the highest peak of Olympus and all of Greece!) as the meeting point for the gods to determine the fate of the mortals they reined. At 2,917 meters in height, Mytikas’s peak once impressed the ancients and continues to impress trekkers and climbers today. To be honest, the mythology around Mt. Olympus is cool and all, but…

  • Greece

    Santorini

    July 5, 2016 - By 

    I told myself there was no way we’d be going to the Galapagos when we were in South America.  So of course we went to the Galapagos. I told myself there was no way we’d be going to any of the Greek Islands while we were in Greece.  Not with our motorhome. So of course we went the Greek Islands.  Actually, we only visited one island (all we had time and money for), but that island is the most stunning and probably everyone’s favorite: Santorini. Greece is beautifully kissed with thousands of islands: the Ionian Islands, the Aegean Islands, and the Cyclades.  With…

  • Greece

    Mycenae

    July 3, 2016 - By 

    Considered one of the greatest civilizations of Greek prehistory, Mycenae traces back to the Neolithic period, though the handful of ruins that remain today date from 1350-1200 B.C. when the site was at its most prominent. Grave circles containing rich gifts and offerings suggest the archeological site was once a land where aristocrats and rulers thrived, and discoveries from later funerary sites show that the Mycenaean heavily invested in trade with other Mediterranean civilizations. At the height of Mycenaean civilization, a palace, a fortification wall including the Lion Gate, grave circles, a giant treasury, and a notable well were erected,…

  • Greece

    Athens

    July 1, 2016 - By 

    Athens is massive, sprawling, and hot, hot, HOT in the summer!  In fact, it was too hot for us to stay in our motorhome.  Because the nearest campground to Athens was far from the city and came with a hefty price tag of €29/night without electricity, we instead chose to park the motorhome outside of Athens and stay at a low cost AirBnB apartment (with air conditioning!).  For €13/night we parked our motorhome near the Piraeus port at Piraeus Parkopolis, took the metro into Athens (€1.40 for a 90-minute journey, or €4.50 for a day pass), and stayed at an…