Back from Europe, stories to come

In case it wasn’t clear, I’m back in the States now. No, I did not blog at all during the 16 days in August I was in Europe, and I’m glad I didn’t. Blogging would have taken up precious time that was otherwise spent enjoying time abroad—and gathering memories that would make for good blog-worthy stories later.

As it was, I had hardly any downtime. If I wasn’t on a walking tour, at the beach, doing laundry, or on a bus, train, plane, or helicopter, I was probably eating or sleeping.

I made some time for pen-and-paper journaling most days, usually accompanied by a pastry and espresso while my brother slept in, but nothing that would be suitable for online publication.

So now that I’m back in Albuquerque and well-settled into a routine, I wanted to reflect on the trip and what it meant to me.

For those who don’t know or are new here, first of all, welcome! I’m glad you found this blog and are taking the time to read it. Back in August, I spent about two weeks traveling through Europe with my younger brother, Nathaniel. My first blog was a sort of open letter offering him advice derived from my own travel experiences, which include my own solo trip to Europe five years ago.

We ended up covering much of the same ground and it was fun to point out familiar places and offer bits of info I gleaned the first time around. When we were in Lisbon, I was able to talk about what to expect from fado music before we found a place to experience it live. I made sure we tried local delicacies like Bacalhau a Bras and pastéis de nata like I had before. Barcelona was a one-night blur but I made sure we tried my favorites like morcilla and jamón ibérico within hours of arriving. We bunked at the same hostel in Rome I had stayed in back in 2017 and I took my brother to the nearby Mercato Centrale a friend of mine had taken me to previously where we helped ourselves to a full range of Italian fare.

There were certainly new adventures for the both of us. I had never been to Paris before and Florence was an unexpected addition to our itinerary. In Paris I tried steak tartare for the first time and in Florence my brother and I conquered the namesake florentine steak, well over 40 ounces and cut 2 to 3 inches thick. And while I have enjoyed octopus in Spain before, I had an unexpected chance to cook it for the first time when I took over stovetop duties during a tapas and pinchos night at the hostel.

Trust me when I say there will be plenty of stories from the trip that I hope to tell over time and while I can’t tell you exactly when I’ll be updating the blog, please know that I hope to share more stories of food and travel and other adventures very soon.

Thanks for reading.