-
Stay Awhile in Lucca: Exactly What We Needed
Lucca was exactly what we needed. After months of running ourselves ragged with big-city itineraries and epic social gatherings (thanks and Happy Birthday, Linda!), this quiet, walled Tuscan town was the oasis of chill we were craving. Compared to everywhere else we’ve been, Lucca is tiny. Its intact medieval walls circle a historic center with only about 8,000 residents. Sure, there are many more folks outside the walls, but since we rarely venture out, we’ve decided they don’t count. Inside the walls, it’s all cobblestones, charming piazzas, and an irresponsible number of excellent restaurants for a place you can walk across in ten minutes. Truthfully, you could check off most…
-
Lucca for a Day or a Month: A Complete Guide
We loved our month-long stay in charming Lucca. To read all about our experience, click here. If you’re planning your own escape to Lucca, whether for a day or a month, here’s everything you need to know to make the most of it. Book a walking tour Start with a quick walking tour to get your bearings and a dose of local history. You’ll learn that Lucca is one of only four European cities with fully intact medieval walls. And how it’s the only city in Tuscany that managed to avoid being conquered by the Medicis (those walls did their job as a deterrent). And how the Lucchese used to…
-
Stay Awhile in Bologna: Tower Living in the City of Towers
This is the story of our month-long Stay Awhile stay in Bologna. For our guide to all the things to see, do, and especially eat in Bologna, click here. Photo cred to Sheri, who shared this from her Dolomites Backroads trip (note we have definitely accidentally killed a few Italians in our time) Arriving in Italy put a bounce in our step and a “prego!” on our lips. This is a country where everyone is effortlessly stylish, and the scooters are driven like they’re stolen. Where conversations unfold like theater—punctuated by animated hand gestures and words shouted with a passion signaling deep affection or, possibly, intense hatred. Where emotions run…
-
Three Packed Days in Granada
One of the reasons we picked Madrid as a place to live for a month was so we could hop down to Granada to visit our niece, Emma, who was deep into her semester abroad (and fluent in tapas and late-night clubbing by then). We hopped the three-hour train south for a long weekend, and she delivered 3 packed days in Granada. Perfectly full of sunshine, culture, and cheerful conversation. Granada is full of delightful surprises From the dramatic mashup of Islamic and Catholic architecture to cave-dwelling Flamenco and a robust tomato culture, Granada, like Islamic architecture, keeps you guessing what’s around the next corner (see how we worked that…
-
Nomads in Madrid: One Blackout, Two Flat Whites, and a Siesta
Here you will find the story of our month-long stay as modern nomads in Madrid. For a guide to all the things to do in Madrid, visit our post here (coming soon). Fitness as nomads in Madrid Having just wrapped up our last cycling class in a Spanish-speaking country, it feels like the right time to reflect on the absolute chaos it was. In this final class, Jesús—our instructor (in fitness, not faith)—spent an hour shouting commands in Spanish, often in complete darkness, leaving us with absolutely no idea what was happening. It’ll be interesting to see how the classes in Italy compare. Could they possibly be more chaotic? Maybe…
