Picture it: Lloret de Mar, Catalonia.  2012.  A young girl stands in a blue tank top and hopes her flimsy strapless bathing suit top will withstand the vigors of a hike along the Costa Brava coast. Well, um, except that young girl was me, and that top, a magenta bandeau that I found for $12 at H&M and immediately deemed a steal, was clearly not made for the purposes of hiking.  Frugality has its drawbacks. I dressed for swimming.  Sea kayaking was the excursion originally scheduled for this morning, but high waves have prevented an outing for a group of travel bloggers ..read more

For my final night in Costa Brava, Spain, I arrived in the inland town of Caldes de Malavella.  This beautiful town ended up being an unexpected highlight of the region. I’d never heard of Caldes de Malavella before my arrival.  The small town is an hour from either Barcelona or the French border and 15 minutes from my beloved Girona.  The town’s claim to fame is its healing waters.  Thermal baths and hot springs are common, which turned Caldes de Malavella into a major spa destination. I got to experience this water firsthand at Balneari Prats, a spa resort that takes its ..read more

Let me tell you something: it’s easy to go to Europe and see nothing but cities.  For years, that was my modus operandi — to hit up the major cities and ignore small towns along the way.  It’s the easiest and most convenient option, especially if you’re traveling by train. But in the past year, I started occasionally renting a car — and was delighted by how easy it can be to see small towns when you’re not tied to a public transportation schedule.  With your own vehicle, it’s easy to hit up three or more small towns in a single day! Here are some of my favorite small towns in Eu ..read more

As much as I’ve traveled in Europe, there has been one major gap in my European travels: beaches. I’m puzzled over how this has happened.  I’ve even been to cities like Lisbon, Barcelona, Rimini, and Venice without setting foot on any of their famous beaches! Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen some absolutely gorgeous beaches in Europe, especially in Croatia.  But they fall into one of four categories: 1) Slabs of rock: like here in Kamenjak, Croatia. 2) Giant pebbles or small rocks: like here in Nice, France. 3) Nice but WAY too expensive: like this €50 beach in Sveti Stefan, Mon ..read more

This past March, I visited Barcelona for the first time.  As you may recall, I was massively underwhelmed, finding the city dirty, crowded, and expensive compared to the rest of Spain, and even the lovely architecture couldn’t lift my spirits. This September, I had a day and a half to spend in Barcelona between TBU and the Bloghouse.  So, did my opinion on Barcelona change the second time around? Well…maybe a little bit. As much as I went in with an open mind, Barcelona in the late summer wasn’t that different from Barcelona in the early spring — only that the streets were much more ..read more

Shortly after arriving in Spain for the first time back in March, I swiftly declared it one of my favorite food countries (along with Italy, Vietnam, Thailand, and France).  Spanish food is simple and delicious. But in Costa Brava, the food really outdid itself.  You had everything that makes Spanish food great, along with plenty of surprises. Here are some of my favorite things I ate in Costa Brava: Jamon iberico Jamon iberico (Iberian ham) may be my favorite food in the world — it’s a special, expensive kind of Spanish ham made from acorn-fed pigs, deliciously mottled and fla ..read more

Costa Brava may very well be the best kept secret in Spain.  This September, I spent time in this region of Catalonia for the first time ever, and I was blown away by its sheer beauty, the variety of things to do, and its warm hospitality. From beaches to cities, from jamon to tomatoes, Costa Brava is filled with so many treasures — and if you’re anything like me, you’ll fall in love with Costa Brava quickly. Here are 13 reasons to fall in love with Costa Brava: Wild Coastline I’ve seen the coasts of California, Croatia, and the Faroe Islands, and Costa Brava’s dramatic coast blows all o ..read more

Early this year, I visited Spain for the first time and quickly declared it one of my favorite countries.  The culture, the architecture, the food, the beautiful men — how could I not fall for Spain?  Of all the cities, I found myself falling for Granada and Sevilla the most. But my new favorite?  I think it might be Girona! I attended my first TBEX Europe conference in Girona this September.  While I’ve been invited to the city a few times, this was my first time I’ve been able to make a trip — and I was so glad that I did. The fastest way for a city to capture my heart i ..read more

Throughout the world, I’ve found places that I’ve fallen in love with — perfect beaches, isolated islands, wild and interesting cities of all sizes.  New places are constantly being added to my list of favorite places in the world. But could I live there?  That requires a whole different set of criteria.  In an ideal place, the weather is sunny and warm, the cost of living is cheap, it’s well-connected travel-wise, and it’s home to lots of fellow expats and cool locals, with plenty of things to do. No place is perfect — each one has at least one downside.  But here are the ..read more

I feel a heaviness as I travel Armenia. It’s a tension, a sorrow, an awareness that permeates the air and drapes over the country like a blanket. The Armenian Genocide and its aftermath are never far from your thoughts. Is this the best way to encourage people to travel to Armenia, Kate? By starting with genocide?! Yeah. Honesty, I feel like it would be disingenuous to do anything else. Of course there’s so much more to Armenia than its traumatic history. So much natural beauty, so many cultural treasures, one of the coolest capital cities around. But you can’t begin to understand Ar ..read more