flashpacker

Updated June 2022 After spending some time in the southwest corner of Portugal exploring the beauty of the ancient port towns of Lagos and Faro, I headed north from the …

Andalucia!  The beautiful region in Spain along its southern coast famous for beaches, surfing, bullfighting, and flamenco. The most well-known cities are Seville, Granada, Malaga and Cordoba offering beautiful architecture, …

Edited December 2024 I never, ever, EVER! thought I’d travel to Madagascar!  It just wasn’t on my radar at all – but when my friend Piu invited me to join …

Edited December 2024 After three incredibly amazing weeks exploring the wonders of Madagascar, our group of French paragliders and I flew to La Réunion for more aerial adventures above this …

Istanbul!  It was Constantinople and now it’s Istanbul. (That’s some old song that for whatever reason, is part of my vast compendium of useless information which makes me such a …

Edited December 2024 The markets in Istanbul – oh. my. word.  In addition to the many neighborhood markets selling fruits, vegetables, clothing, antiques and just about every other thing that’s …

OK, so maybe I’m just a little bit enamoured of the Mamma Mia movies.  I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m “obsessed” but I am definitely a huge …

Hooray! My favorite Frenchman has arrived at the villa to enjoy the Tuscan area with me, and now I HAVE WHEELS and can travel into the countryside, which has not …

Updated October 2022 Want to know how I landed here in Tuscany in an incredibly amazing 15th- century villa as a caretaker for two months, with free accommodations and my …

Updated October 2022. How would you like to spend two months at an Italian villa in Tuscany, living for free, in exchange for a couple of hours of work each …