We emerged from the train station into brilliant sunshine, squinting our eyes for a moment against the sun’s glare reflecting off white tiled sidewalks. A glorious view presented itself: the gleaming Tagus River lay before us, so wide it looked like the
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There are few places in the world where the traditional and the modern mingle as closely as they do in Portugal. One moment, you’re walking down Porto’s tourist-packed riverfront promenade, your feet firmly rooted in the present. Then you turn down a
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Returning to Spain again was like putting on my favorite well-worn t-shirt: familiar and comforting. Though I love all of Spain, there really aren’t enough words to describe how enchanting the Andalucía region is. Andalucía, bordering the southern coast, is full of white-washed
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Every family has significant stories to tell. Here is one of my family’s. My maternal grandfather, Anthony “Bill” Casella, was one of the first Allied soldiers to see Dachau concentration camp in the spring of 1945, during the waning days of the
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Munich can’t compete with most European cities in the looks department, but it has one thing the others don’t: the best beer in the world. German draft beer, which adheres to strict 500-year-old purity laws, is in a class of its own.
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Vienna wasn’t part of our original itinerary, but I’m very glad we made a last minute decision to spend a weekend there. At the end of June, we had a few days to fill before we were due to meet my mom
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“Is that really a ‘No High Heels’ sign?” I asked, stifling a laugh. “Here?” We were 45 minutes away from the rocky summit of the tallest mountain in Poland when we spotted the sign, half-buried in melting snow. It was so comically
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If I had to describe Budapest in one word, I’d pick grand. Everything about Budapest has a faded grandeur to it–the ornate nineteenth century architecture, the elegantly decorated thermal baths, and the wide boulevards curving through the city center. If the city
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Belgrade is one of the oldest cities in Europe, but you wouldn’t know it at first sight. When we arrived at the bus station after a seven hour journey from Sarajevo, what immediately stood out was the newness of our surroundings. Though
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Bosnia and Herzegovina is stone Ottoman villages perched on hillsides over turquoise rivers. Bosnia is spectacular limestone mountains soaring above river valleys. Bosnia is ruined castles looking over vast stretches of countryside, splendid ancient fortresses where queens once resided. Bosnia is so
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