Brief Interludes Here and There

Interlude: a pause or interval that contrasts with what goes before and what follows.
Before we started rambling with Teej and Ricco, our two old cats, we'd moved to Valencia with five senior pets and had to keep our time away from home down to less than a fortnight.
Our one or two week-long interludes include: cycle tours, through hikes, stopovers, and short visits. They've added a dash of spice to accent our lives.
Spanish Interludes

Elche (Elx) Spain
Why is Elche also called Elx? We learned something about languages in Spain when our Catalan friend Jenny taught us…
Jamie

Stopping in Granada
Our recent stopover in Granada was an entirely different experience. Due to covid restrictions, we spent six days in a…
Jamie

Our Unexpected Stay-at-Home in the Navarrés Region of the Valencia Communidad
Our escape from Las Fallas, version 2020, started with a week in the Spanish Pyrenees followed up with a week…
Susan

Sabando: A Remote Village in the Basque Country of Northern Spain
Late last year our friends Mat and Kathryn suggested we escape the noise and crowds of Valencia’s bacchanal, better known…
Susan & Jamie

Fiscal, Aragón: A Quiet Village in the Spanish Pyrenees
Late last year when our friends Mat and Kat asked if we’d like to escape from Valencia with them for…
Susan & Jamie

Beaches and Bays Along Spain’s Costa Verde
The weather gods favored us during an October trip to Spain’s Costa Verde. We explored the coastal zones of Cantabria…
Susan & Jamie

How I Spent My First Ever Yoga Retreat at Yoga Sutra Shala
Recently I started to have the feeling that a rigorous week-long retreat just might be beyond my physical capacity. I…
Susan

Menorca in the Shoulder Season
Mid October is a lovely time of year to visit Menorca. The crowds are gone, lodging prices fall, we could…
Susan

A Few Surprises on Our Sweep Through Andalusia
Our sweep through Andalusia was not the typical slow travel we prefer. Jamie’s sisters, our travel companions, had a tight…
Susan

Buen Camino, Pick the Right Camino for You
There is something magical about doing a walk that’s been done by pilgrims for over 1,000 years.…
Susan

Seven Traditions When You Finish the Camino
Whether you walk the Camino or not, Santiago de Compostela is big on amenities when it comes to lodging, restaurants,…
Susan
Italian Interludes

Five Days on Two Wheels in Emilia Romagna, Italy
My friend Christina’s love of Ferrara, her home city, inspired me to put together a gentle cycle tour. Along our…
Jamie

Falling in Love with Ferrara
I had no idea I was going to fall in love with Ferrara or that Jamie and I would see…
Susan

A Couple of Days in Bologna
Before we grabbed our bicycles and hit the road for a tour of Emilia-Romagna, we wanted to see a bit…
Susan
Portuguese Interludes
French Interludes

A Short Stay in Nîmes
If you like old stones do not pass up Nîmes. It is by far home to the best preserved Roman…
Jamie

Strasbourg on a cloudy day
Could a lovelier city exist? Even a cold, cloudy day couldn’t dampen the beauty of Strasbourg.…
Susan

Yes Dijon!
We liked everything about Dijon. Yes, this city has it all. If I could speak French I’d never want to…
Susan

Our Pleasant Interlude in Narbonne
Susan and I decided to limit the distance of each train journey so that our old boy, Teej, needn’t spend…
Jamie

L’isle-sur-la-Sorgue deserves more than a day trip
We’d arrived on a warm and sunny Thursday morning in October. It was market day. The village streets were jammed…
Susan & Jamie

Paris Unplanned
I can’t remember how many times we dreamed of being able to spontaneously choose a travel destination when “knock your…