Walking around Utrecht on a cool November evening, testing the Night Shot mode on the Google Pixel 9 Pro and waiting for the end of the world.
The Oudegracht. November 2024.
De Denker. November 2024.
Neude. November 2024.
Stadhuis. November 2024.
Domkerk. November 2024.
Jan Van Nassau. November 2024.
They look good on the phone anyway, so let me know what you guys think in the comments!
Above the Cloud Cover on a Portion of the Volta Malhada Trail. June 2024.
If you happen to be an early morning riser, Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport can provide some excellent opportunities for budget traveling. Many of the cheaper European airlines offer early morning (5am - 8am) flights for great prices if you book them six weeks or so in advance. There are also direct flights to many places that you can’t fly directly to otherwise. You also have the added benefit of having almost the entire day remaining once you’ve arrive at your destination. Just remember that trains from the Amsterdam city center and the surrounding cities generally only run once an hour until they pick up more regular intervals around 5am. You may want to pay a few extra euro to book a cab in advance, especially if you are traveling with other people.
A View From Miradouros do Paredão. June 2024.
Now, I’m not the best morning person in the world but I’ve taken advantage of these flights several times, most recently with a Transavia flight to Madeira, Portugal. Madeira is the name of the island archipelago that is an autonomous region of Portugal and is also the name of the biggest island in the archipelago. The islands are off the western coast of Morocco, almost a straight shot west from Marrakesh. and as you can see, they are absolutely breathtaking.
A View From Miradouro de São Lourenço. June 2024.
FOOD BREAK! Being an island, Madeira is known for it’s excellent seafood. They also grow their own wheat and make a delicious flatbread called a bolo de caco. It looks like a giant English muffin but it is so much better. These can be served simply with a ton of garlic butter or made into sandwiches, the best of which is called the prego especial. These blew me away. I had at least five of them during the trip. Lettuce, tomatoes, aged ham, thinly sliced beef, cheese, and lots of garlic butter as a sauce. Incredible.
We also had some amazing octopus and fresh caught fish that seemed to have just hopped off the boat. And being that Madeira is still technically part of Portugal I had myself a Francesinha, an ungodly colossus of meat, cheese, bread, and beer gravy. Yes please.
We stayed in Funchal, the capital and largest city on the island. From the airport it is a quick 20 minute drive that gets really exciting when you turn off the highway and dive straight down the mountainside into the heart of the city. Driving in Madeira is definitely a wild and adrenaline-filled experience. Some of the inclines are at least 45 degrees, and driving through the clouds that ring the mountain tops only adds to the fun.
Along the ER101 Coastal Road at Sao Vicente. June 2024.
We generally split the days in Madeira wandering around Funchal and taking day-long road trips across the island (and once on the sea on a replica of the Santa Maria). This seemed to strike a nice balance and allowed us to freely see many of the viewpoints and small towns. Next time I’d really like to stay overnight in at least one of those small towns to get away from the “crowds” and enjoy the remoteness of the island. Places like Seixal and Porto Moniz would make excellent getaways from busy city life. But Funchal was a great base of operations, especially for a first-time visitor.
Ilheus da Ribeira and Janela from a beach between Sexial and Porto Moniz. June 2024.
TECH BREAK! Here are some photos taken with the Samsung Galaxy S24 instead of my usual Sony A7C full frame camera. I think you can tell that while mobile photography has come a long way, the photos are still nowhere close to those that come from a proper camera. And my experience has been that the Galaxy S24 cameras are especially terrible (see below). I will definitely be going back to the Pixel Pro now that they have a reasonably sized version. The 5X camera on the Pixel Pros are simply amazing.
I know it’s comparing Food Lion apples to hand-picked Pacific Rose apples from New Zealand’s best orchards, but I’ve heard a few phone reviewers say that “traditional” photography is dead and that clearly isn’t true. Have a look at these and see if you can spot which was shot with the Sony A7C and which was shot with the Galaxy S24:
Ok, enough of that. Back to the good camera.
Visiting Madeira for the first time was an amazing experience. So much so that we’ve already booked a return trip during an EasyJet sale last month (Direct flights with 2 carry on bags in extra legroom seats for €120. Thanks EasyJet Plus :-D If you’re in the US, you can get direct flights from New York City too! Between the food, the friendly people, and the amazing natural beauty of the island, I’d highly recommend this wonder-filled island to anyone.
The Tail of Madeira. June 2024.
Highlights:
O Leque, Funchal. Best of the best Prego Especial. Great view of the square.
Revolucion Cocktail Bar, Funchal. Great cocktails and wonderful owner/operators
Santa Maria de Colombo, Funchal. Boat Tour on the replica of the Santa Maria. We didn’t see whales but it was great fun anyway.
Miradouros do Paredão. Great views for a short walk and almost completely void of other people.
Bar Praia da Laje, Seixal. Amazing bolo soaked in garlic butter. Great views. Food barbequed right in front of you. Amazing mussels.
Restaurante Baía do Bago, Porto da Cruz. Probably the best seafood from the trip. Also on the beach, also amazing views.
PR8 Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço. Popular hiking area along the “tail” of Madeira. The views are amazing and you can go down to a pebble beach if you feel like swimming.
Esmeralda Holidays Apartments, Funchal. Nice rooms in a great location. Had a bad smell in the entrance hallway but they let us check in at 10am and they were very friendly so that more than made up for it.
Let me know in the comments below if you have any questions. I hope you enjoyed my photos!
Skye Sheep. October 2023.
You should go to Skye. As soon as you can. Stay in a cabin. Hike the hills. Swim in the sea. Wrap yourself in a wool blanket and drink whiskey by the fire as a cold rain provides steady percussion on the tin roof. Revel in the natural beauty that surrounds you.
One of the best low-key places in Greece. Overshadowed by more tourist heavy places like Mykonos, Lindos is a true gem in the Greek Islands.
The Lindos Acropolis. July, 2020.
Lindos is a small town on the Greek island of Rhodes, a bit less than an hour’s drive south of Rhodes Town. It is small an hilly, with amazing food and a few nice beaches. Not to mention the coastal caves and the amazing Lindos Acropolis.
Lindos from the North. July 2020.
I put this post together and saved it as a draft two years ago and just now realized it. Whoops.
Afternoon Nap. July 2020.
Lindos Acropolis Ruins. July 2020.
Atop the Acropolis of Lindos. July 2020.
Church of the Panagia, July 2020.
Last Light of the Day on Saint Paul’s Bay. July 2020.
Well I guess this post isn’t as verbose as some of my other posts but hopefully you enjoyed the pictures. A few notable recommendations:
) The Lindos Watersports - Boat rental service on Pallas Beach. I met the owner Michael on my first trip to Lindos, after his mom replied to one of my FB inquiries looking for a boat to rent. The experience was charming and wonderful and I’m always sure to check in and rent a boat from him when I’m in town.
) The Pallas Beach Taverna - Pallas Beach (and Lindos Beach for that matter) are all the way at the bottom of the island’s hills. And let’s be honest, hiking up and down hills in 42 degree Celsius weather is not something you want to do more than you need to. Luckily Pallas Beach Taverna has amazing Greek food and great cocktails that will keep you fed and watered from breakfast till dinner without having to move more than 4 meters. Solid.
Other things:
We have tried at least eight different rooftop restaurants at sunset. They were all amazing. Make reservations at least a day in advance if you have one in particular you want to go to.
If you are exploring the rest of the island, stay at the top of the city near the road. You will have great views of the sunset and won’t have to go too far to get to your car. If you are staying in Lindos the whole time, stay in the middle or lower part of the city. You will save many steps to and from the stores/restaurants, and beaches. And you can still get amazing sunset views from a rooftop restaurant.
That’s it for now. Please like and comment if you have any questions!
Moonrise in Sarandë. July 2022.
It’s not the easiest place to get to, even from one of the busiest airports in the world. But the Albanian coastal city of Sarandë is truly a unique and special place. Sarandë takes some of the best bits of Italy, Greece, and the Balkans and marries them together. The result is a spectacular contrast of ideals and cultures that can only be described as… Albania.
A valley between Sarandë’s coast and the inland mountain range. July 2022.
Growing up, I played soccer (football) and made friends with an Albanian family so visiting their home country had been a long time goal of mine for quite awhile. I got the chance when I read about how you can take a quick ferry ride from the popular Greek holiday island of Corfu. So I added Corfu to the summer holiday itinerary with the sole purpose of visiting Albania for a few days. In fact, we took a taxi straight from the Corfu airport to the Corfu Town Port. Thirty-five minutes later, we stepped foot in the home country of my old soccer pals.
As I mentioned before, Albania is a land of contrasts. The ferry ride over to Sarandë (high speed ferry service on Finikas Lines) was a perfect introduction to this concept. Surrounded by crystal waters of the Ionian while inhaling intense diesel fumes was something of an experience. Being forcibly befriended by a local who apparently knew every single person at both Finikas Lines and the Albanian border security was also fun, if a not a little overwhelming. “For €10 you can have a great night on the town in Albania,” he told me as he handed me three of the six beers he grabbed directly from behind the small counter that only crew were supposed to go behind. “For €100 you can live like a king.” Well, Gëzuar to that.
Turns out my new friend was pretty spot on. A large apartment a few steps from downtown was under €50 for the night. An amazing dinner at a family run restaurant right on the water was under €20 including (several) cocktails and bottled water was something like €0.25. I think this even beats out Budapest as far as bang for your buck goes. We were even treated to a beautiful sunset and a near-full moonrise. Albania’s beauty is astounding. Later that night we sat on the balcony drinking Albanian beer (€0.60/pint) reflecting on the wonderful people we had met and watching the party boat circle the bay. We were already in love with this city.
The next day it was time for some adventuring. If the southern coast of Albania is famous for anything, it is for the beautiful beaches that line the crystal blue waters of the Ionian Sea. Naturally, there are big boats that will take you on day trips to visit several of them. And naturally they leave relatively early in the morning so you have plenty of time to visit them all. And naturally I didn’t really think about this beforehand and we woke up and headed to the harbor well after they had all already gone for the day. Fortunately, we were in Albania.
After unsuccessfully enquiring at a few tourist offices, we came across a local trying to get off of her boat. The boat couldn’t get any closer to the dock and the end of the gangplank was still a short distance away and rocking quite a bit, so we reached and helped steady the boat as she jumped off. This turned out to be a fortunate meeting because here friends had a small boat and were happy to let us charter it for the day. I guess we ended up breaking the “King for €100” rule, but it was easily worth €150 to charter a private boat with snacks and drinks for 5-6 hours. Of course it was a little sketchy at first. Here we were, heading off into the wild blue sea with two strangers with somewhat surly demeanors and who immediately started steering the boat to a less-than-welcoming cove at the outskirts of town, surrounded by abandoned bunkers. Oh yeah, the bunkers. Have I mentioned the bunkers yet?
Bunkers Along the Sea. July 2022.
Albania is covered in some 173,000 bunkers. That’s one bunker for every sixteen people. That’s sixteen bunkers every square mile (or six every square kilometer for my non-USA readers). There’s a playground in downtown Sarandë with a bunker in the middle of it. There’s also a somewhat terrifying statue of Hillary Clinton’s head and guess what’s right beside it? Bunker. Remember the contrast thing I mentioned earlier? Flat grey bunkers on the edge of the sparkling blue sea are a perfect demonstration of that concept.
The Turquoisest Bluest Water I Have Ever Seen. July 2022.
So anyway, we were being taken to our doom by complete strangers, or so it seemed at first. Turns out the sketchy cove at the edge of town is actually the boat gas station. Once we had filled up, we cruised along the beautiful coastline. Eventually, our co-captains dropped anchor a few meters off the shoreline of Krorëza Beach and reached for a little herbal relaxation as we dove into the sea and headed for shore. We spent the next several hours exploring different beaches along the coast, our once-stoic guides becoming much more friendly as the day wore on. The boat returned to port that evening, just in time for dinner. Delicious pizza dinner. A drink or two. Sleep.
Sarandë From Above. July 2022.
The following day we went inland. I thought I was more prepared this time. What I thought was a day-long bus tour turned out to be our own private tour by car. An all-day private tour for about €50. Kings for a Day. We visited the hilltop castle Kalaja e Lëkurësit, and Albania’s famous Blue Hole. Or Blue Eye rather. Either way, it is a beautiful blue spring in the middle of a lush forest valley and surrounded by arid hill tops. And finally the ancient city ruins of Butrint, which has an acropolis older than THE Acropolis. Take that, Athena. We had very pleasant and amazing journey all day until some local traffic cops attempted to shake down our tour guide. I had the American embassy phone number pulled up on speed dial while loud arguments and wild gesticulations occurred outside the car. It was certainly exciting to say the least. But in the end we made it back safely, and in time for the return ferry to Corfu no less. It was a beautiful Albanian adventure full of contrasts, where we lived like kings and haggled like hustlers. I can’t wait to return.
Crystal Waters From the Blue Eye. July 2022.
Recommendations! Basically all the stuff I mentioned. But TL;DR Below:
Butrint, for sure. Worth the whole trip.
Kalaja e Lëkurësit (The castle on the hill)
Krorëza Beach
Honestly the group boat looked fun, if you can get up in time to go. They had a foam party on the deck. And the boat looks like a pirate ship.
Bar Restaurant Limani. Delicious breakfasts with giant portions. Try the Greek.
Shemo Beach Bar & Restaurant. Amazing food, family run, beautiful view. Ridiculously low prices and such a good value.
I hope you enjoyed the stories. If you have any questions or comments, let me know below! Thanks for reading!
Back in Corfu Town, Albania in the Distance. July 2022.
The infamous Paulaner tent on the Theresienwiese fairgrounds, München. September 2022.
The train from Utrecht takes about seven hours, with just one change. That may sound like a long time, but when you consider getting to the airport early, checking bags if you have them, and waiting in security lines, turns out I’d much rather just take the train. Plus we were staying at a Marriott property right beside Munich’s central station which is much closer to the action than Munich’s airport (about a 1 hour commute by train). On top of that, there were large groups of Dutchies already dressed in their Lederhosen and pounding beers on the train
Neues Rathaus, the New Town Hall. September 2022.
The first night was classic Oktoberfest. We dressed in our typical classic German attire, went to the festival grounds and met some friends, ate sausages and half-meter long hotdogs, and planted ourselves at an outdoor table on the Hofbräu terrace. Liters and liters of beer were drank. Strangers were met. Songs were sung. Stumbling occurred. A perfect Oktoberfest night.
Deutsches Museum on the Isar River, September 2022.
A Building of Faces and Munich from Above. September 2022.
The next day was time for recovery and exploring. The typical city wandering occurred. I ate delicious schnitzel and spätzle at several different restaurants. Restaurant Deutsche Eiche in particular had an amazing slab of roast turkey breast with a turkey gravy that cured all of my ailments instantly.
Dennis Reynolds: Golden God.
The last night of our adventure was spent in a triumphant return to the Hofbräu tent. This time we found some folks with a half-empty table and they let us join them, right in the middle of the room beside the bandstand. A few liters and many toasts later we headed back to the hotel, a wonderful and slightly impromptu trip to Munich completed. Will definitely be returning next year!
Oktoberfest Night, September 2022.
Until Next Time!
Recommends:
Hofbräu tent. Definitely the best of the tents.
Restaurant Deutsche Eiche (mmmm turkey)
Roomers Munich, Autograph Collection - A Marriott property with a phenomenal breakfast and a pool/hot tub/grotto in the basement. So fancy. Thank you Marriott points!
Going up the Frauenkirche tower. Not the best tower I’ve been in but there’s an elevator and plenty of signboards to tell you what you’re looking at.
Questions? Comments? Let me know below!
Lone Palm by Catedral de Mallorca. May 2021.
Like most people living through the pandemic, by May of 2021 I really needed a vacation. There were still restrictions in place across Europe, but it was possible to fly to Spain with a negative Covid test. And as long as you wore a mask outside. And there was a 10pm curfew. But in my opinion, it was still well worth the trip for the food, sun and beaches.
A Suite in Casa Delmonte. 10/10 Recommend.
Palau Reial de l'Almudaina
Bridge Before the Royal Palace.
Castell de Bellver, May 2021
A Peaceful Cala. May 2021.
Always tip your live musicians if they don’t completely suck :)
Shout out to the incredible Casa Delmonte, where the rooms feel like staying in an actual museum.
If you’re searching for beaches in Mallorca, you’d better head for the Cales. They are the famous rock-shelf-lined waters that end in beautiful beaches.
Marina Port De Mallorca. May 2021.
Mallorca/Majorca is a popular summer destination for a very good reason. The food is amazing, the beaches are absolutely gorgeous, and it won’t break the bank. Actually, the best tacos I’ve had so far in Europe were in Mallorca. Not that they come close to touching a taco truck in San Diego County, but still quite good.
Here are some things I recommend in Mallorca:
Casa Delmonte - Clearly. It’s beautiful, posh, and there’s an amazing private garden with white wicker chairs and a fully stocked cigar and whiskey bar. I mean, c’mon.
TaqueroMucho - Those tacos I was talking about. Best I’ve had so far in Europe, and certainly the closest representation to their SoCal counterparts.
Bakeries - Any well respected bakery in Spain will have my favorite breakfast - Jamon Serrano con Queso Manchego. Best breakfast/ham and cheese sandwich ever, hands down. It feels sacrilegious to even label it a ham and cheese sandwich. The best versions have butter and/or a crushed tomato spread.
Cala - Any cala. These beaches are really amazing and they are scattered across the island.
Bocalto Tapas - Eat all of the things here.
San Lorenzo - Hotel I stayed the first time I was in Mallorca. Also a very very nice hotel with a beautiful pool and patio area. Great for photoshoots :-D
Questions? Comments? Criticisms? Hit like and make a comment below…
