¡Saludos from Mexico! We absolutely LOVE it here—and we think you would, too. I’m working on a post (or three or four) explaining why, so prepare yourselves for a deluge.
In the meantime, let’s close the book on Europe with some stats, favorite photos, and random observations from our time there:
Nafplio, Greece
St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City
One week to twelve days was the perfect amount of time for us to spend in a single country. Any longer than that made us restless; anything less felt rushed and inefficient.
Biking through the Austrian wine country
We averaged 12,512 steps per day. (That’s about six miles.) Our record was 27,175 steps in Seville. Our least-active day was in Austria, where we only managed to take a paltry 527 steps (mostly up and down the stairs to eat).
Plaza de España, Seville, Spain
Nothing made me feel more European than not refrigerating our eggs. In America, fresh eggs are washed to remove salmonella, but that also removes the natural anti-bacterial barrier on the shell. European chickens are given anti-salmonella shots instead, so the protective coating stays in place and eggs can be stored at room temperature.
Speaking of which: Europe, you gotta get onboard with big breakfasts, man. A lone croissant is not enough to get you through the morning. The only thing I wanted more than Tex-Mex when we got home was a giant plate of fluffy pancakes (not crepes!) with a side of scrambled eggs, home fries, and biscuits. (Oh, and fresh coffee, not the instant schlock we had to drink most mornings because of our budget.)
A breakfast guest in Greece
See y’all later, I’m moving to Budapest. Not only is it tremendously cool and spectacularly beautiful, it’s also as cheap as can be. After paying an average of $20 (total!) for big boozy dinners (including dessert) in Romania and Hungary, I had a small stroke when we got to Italy and paid almost that much for a single entree.
Széchenyi bath house, Budapest, Hungary
The award for nicest locals goes to Portugal. The entire country is friendly, and everyone speaks English better than I do. Bravo, Portugal! Romania is the runner up. And the Germans? Well, they’re always up for a chat.
Porto, Portugal
Pardon my potty mouth, but we spent a lot of time analyzing the toilets abroad. German and Austrian ones are the weirdest—they have shelves that catch the...unwanted material. And they’re usually in a separate room from the shower and sink—sometimes even on the opposite side of the house! What gives? (No seriously, someone tell me.)
Can we get a do-over in Venice? We loved it in spite of the challenges, but we missed out on a lot too (St. Mark’s Basilica, the Doge's Palace, a trip to Murano). Sean was planning our return visit before we even checked out of our guesthouse.
Grand Canal, Venice, Italy
We almost derailed our plans for Oktoberfest. We don’t drink that much and loud, crowded places make us twitchy, so we figured we’d pop in once or twice just to see what it was about. But it turns out that old fuddy duddies can enjoy Oktoberfest too—and still be in bed by 9pm! We had so much fun we briefly considered cutting a day out of Vienna in favor of a fourth trip to the Fest.
Oktoberfest, Munich, Germany
I’d like another helping of Greek food, please. I kept a list of dishes I wanted to make when I got home, and I have more Greek recipes to try than anything else. Seriously, who knew it was so delicious? (Sean, on the other hand, would be happy eating Romanian food for the rest of his life.)
We only went out for one meal per day, so we always tried to make them count. Our top 5 meals were:
La Flauta (Barcelona, Spain): Tapas and sangria that were so delicious we had to have them two days in a row. (We’ve never done that before.) You won’t believe it, but the best thing we ate was cod smothered in mayo, honey, and quince jelly. ¡Que rica!
Antica Osteria Ardenghi (Venice, Italy): Sean’s truffle tagliolini and my meatballs were so indulgent that we ordered a third entree. (This place gets bonus points for being open and incredible just 36 hours after the flood.)
La Ceaun (Braşov, Romania): The pork ribs at this place melted off the bone (and came with an insane garlic cream sauce).
HBH Bajor Sörház (Eger, Hungary): Potato croquettes with sheep cheese and paprika sauce. What more do you need?
Tie: Sean voted for Mpountaraki on Paros (Greece); I chose Weingut & Heuriger Graf in the Wachau Valley (Austria).
Romanian papanași (donut)
Europe fits like an old lace glove—comfortable, familiar, and beautiful. The next two legs of our journey are going to be much more exotic. Maybe even a little uncomfortable. And while it’s exciting to explore more challenging destinations, it’s also nice to know that our cultural cousins will always be right on the other side of the Atlantic whenever we want to go back.
Nafplio, Greece
What’s the first thing you think of when I say Colombia? Cocaine? Pablo Escobar? Narcos? FARC? Terrorism? That’s fair. But what if I told you everything you thought you knew about the country is wrong?