Tag: Wine

Eating Our Way Through Seoul

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Growing up, my family hosted home-stay students from around the world who were studying English in Vancouver. Soo Yeong lived with my family in 2002. Years later we reconnected through Facebook (the magic of social media!) and I reached out when we were travelling through Asia. Dan and I were unsure if or for how long we wanted to visit South Korea for but shortly after talking with Soo, we booked our flights to Seoul. Having her as our personal tour guide and local friend was probably one of the main reasons that our stay in Seoul was so fantastic! No matter how many “travel like a local” blogs you read, you never really experience a city ‘like a local’ unless you are with one. Continue reading →

100 Days in Europe: From Iceland to Hungary

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It’s been less than two weeks since we left Europe for Asia, and yet it feels like a lifetime ago. That could possibly be because we’re in Varanasi, India which is a whole world different than Europe. Having had enough of the sensory overload from the city, we’re hiding in a café drinking coffee (made with filtered water) and reflecting on our 100 days in Europe. Continue reading →

The Ancient City of Ephesus

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Our last stop in Turkey was Selçuk which we chose mainly for it’s proximity to the ancient city of Ephesus. We also read that it’s only a short bus ride from Şirince, a neighbouring town famous for its wines. We spent four nights in Selçuk (you only really need two) because we wanted to relax before our overnight flight to Dubai followed by another overflight flight to India three days later. Continue reading →

Cappadocia: A Surreal Landscape

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Our first views of Cappadocia, a region in central Turkey, were from the window of our shuttle van which picked us up at the Kayseri airport and drove us roughly an hour to our hotel in Göreme. Although we had Googled the area and had an idea of what it would like, it was still pretty cool to see the mars-like landscape in person. When we arrived at our hotel the receptionist asked us if we had already signed up for the red, green or blue tour. Neither of us had a clue what he was talking about and excused ourselves to go Google it in our room. We clearly had done very little research of the area because the first thing that comes up is those tours and almost everyone (who doesn’t rent a car) does a tour. We are usually fairly anti-tour but this one was the only way possible to see everything in the region in a limited time – and I was really interested in learning more about how the landscape was formed. Continue reading →

Exploring the Small City of Bratislava

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We arrived in Bratislava in the afternoon and our airbnb host met us at the train station. He had already bought three tickets for the bus and he offered to carry my luggage. He rode the bus with us to our apartment and showed us around. The apartment was one of the best we have stayed in – everything was there. The bathroom was stocked with toiletries and the kitchen was stocked with everything you could possibly need for cooking as well as enough food in the pantry for a dinner or two, all for our use. We were very pleased and happy with the fantastic start to this new country. Continue reading →

A Polish Wedding (Poland: Part II)

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Attending a Polish Wedding was never something I imagined myself doing. So, when the opportunity presented itself, I was pretty excited. First off, it’s an honour to be invited to a wedding – anywhere in the world. Second, a wedding is an incredible way to get a better understanding of local culture and traditions. Continue reading →

Meeting Dan’s Family (Poland: Part I – Warsaw)

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We left Berlin early in the morning to ensure we arrived in Warsaw on time to meet Dan’s sister, Jessika, and his mother, Ewa, at the airport when their plane landed. When we arrived (a bit late) they were waiting for us with Ewa’s brother, Krzysztof. We picked up our rental car and followed Krzysztof back to Otwock, a small town about 45 minutes from Warsaw where Ewa grew up. Her entire family still lives in that town and her brother and his family currently live in the same apartment she grew up in! Since she left, Ewa has only returned to Poland twice, once in 1998 with Jessika and Daniel. Dan barely remembers this visit and was essentially re-meeting his entire family; a very special part of our trip! Continue reading →