Living La Vida Loca

A Global Adventure

  • Saint Malo and Exploring the Brittany Coast

    We made our way to Saint Malo from Trieste. Saint Malo was one of the French towns designated as a fortress under the German Atlantic Wall program, and its prewar defenses were expanded considerably before the Allied landings in Normandy during June 1944. As part of their invasion plans, the Allies intended to capture the town so that its… Read more

  • Lovely Trieste

    Our next stop on our European trip late this year was Trieste in very northern Italy near the Slovenia border.  You might wonder why we stopped here…we were originally routed through Trieste to get to the start of our biking trip (yes, the one we didn’t get to take after Andrew’s header off his bike).… Read more

  • Change of Plans: Still Sicily Though…

    The best laid travel plans sometimes give way to unanticipated curveballs. We were supposed to do a biking trip in Slovenia and Croatia as part of a larger European vacation that included as-yet undiscovered (by us) parts of Italy. Alas, Andrew decided to go off on his electric bike on a sunny day – solo… Read more

  • Into the Woods…

    A simple change of scenery – and pace – can be therapeutic. Our week in Mariposa and then Occidental – both in Northern California, was just that for both Andrew and I. Despite very hot weather – the chance to slow down, take leisurely walks, read books, sleep with no alarm, and commune with nature… Read more

  • Three Faces of Mexico

    Andrew and I made the decision over the last year or so that travel is so much a part of our DNA that we needed to take “calculated risks” – despite possible exposure to COVID – and keep exploring the world. Of course, we take guidance from Andrew’s physicians with regard to destinations that might… Read more

  • Opera, Jewish History, and Zoo Animals!

    The final few days of our time in Australia were filled with lots of memorable experiences. I’ll do what I can to sum them up here. While I am less of an opera fan than Andrew, I felt it would be a grave injustice to pass up a night at the Sydney Opera House with… Read more

  • So Much to See, So Little Time

    The next day Andrew and I took off on our own as did Kathy. Kathy had a special interest learning about the indigenous people of Australia and some of the affiliated horticulture of the area, and we wanted to do some hiking and exploring some of the less touristy areas around central Sydney. Our plan… Read more

  • Hopping Over to Australia: Sydney

    When Andrew and I visited New Zealand in 2019 we jumped over to Melbourne AU for just a few days on our way home – to get a “taste” of Australia. Admittedly that’s akin to saying, “We visited St Louis, MO and got a taste of the United States”! In any case, this time we… Read more

  • Biking the Otago Rail Trail

    Noah and Dalia headed off to explore the North Island and we were very excited for them. Many of our fondest memories of our time in NZ in 2019 were at some of the places they planned to travel to, so we are glad they could do a similar exploration and we hope to hear… Read more

  • Up in the Clouds Above Queenstown

    This was our last day together with Noah and Dalia, as they were headed to the north island as we were headed to our biking adventure still on the South Island. We wanted them to see more of Queenstown attractions so we went to the upper part of Queenstown that is basically where the extreme… Read more