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, [...]

One of the unexpected highlights of our three weeks in the Balkans was lovely Istria — the heart-shaped, Italian-flavored peninsula of western Croatia. Dave and I ended up here on a bit of a whim.  We were deciding whether it would be best to fly into Zagreb, Split, or somewhere else entirely — and it was [...]