Weekend in Munich: Oktoberfest and Neuschwanstein

(Location: Munich, Germany) Andy had a work trip to Munich, which happened to coincide with Oktoberfest, so I tagged along for a long weekend. Oktoberfest is something you have to do once. It’s kind of like the Houston Rodeo, but stickier, and with more singing (slurring) and dancing (swaying). The entire city seems to get […]

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Hiking in Cinqueterre, Italy

In May 2007 we visited the Cinque Terre region of Italy. We flew into Genoa and took a local train about 2 hours down the coast. Cinque terre, which means “five lands”, is a bit off the usual tourist circuit. All trains don’t stop in all of the villages so you need to do a […]

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Milan: A Pleasant Surprise

(Location: Milan, Italy) (In 2000, I was commuting from Raleigh to Austin for work most weeks. Due to corporate policies, this meant flying via Dallas or Chicago, and usually home on Thursday nights. Most weeks, flights were overbooked and the airline would ask for volunteers to take another flight in exchange for a voucher. After […]

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We Forgot How to Ski !

(Location: Interlaken, Switzerland) (In 2000, I was commuting from Raleigh to Austin for work most weeks. Due to corporate policies, this meant flying via Dallas or Chicago, and usually home on Thursday nights. Most weeks, flights were overbooked and the airline would ask for volunteers to take another flight in exchange for a voucher. After […]

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Getting Our Feet Wet in Venice

(Location: Venice, Italy) (In 2000, I was commuting from Raleigh to Austin for work most weeks. Due to corporate policies, this meant flying via Dallas or Chicago, and usually home on Thursday nights. Most weeks, flights were overbooked and the airline would ask for volunteers to take another flight in exchange for a voucher. After […]

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Florence: Art, culture, and lots of veal

(Location: Florence, Italy) (In 2000, I was commuting from Raleigh to Austin for work most weeks. Due to corporate policies, this meant flying via Dallas or Chicago, and usually home on Thursday nights. Most weeks, flights were overbooked and the airline would ask for volunteers to take another flight in exchange for a voucher. After […]

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Day trip to Pompeii

(Location: Pompeii, Italy) (In 2000, I was commuting from Raleigh to Austin for work most weeks. Due to corporate policies, this meant flying via Dallas or Chicago, and usually home on Thursday nights. Most weeks, flights were overbooked and the airline would ask for volunteers to take another flight in exchange for a voucher. After […]

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36 Hours in Rome

(Location: Rome, Italy) (In 2000, I was commuting from Raleigh to Austin for work most weeks. Due to corporate policies, this meant flying via Dallas or Chicago, and usually home on Thursday nights. Most weeks, flights were overbooked and the airline would ask for volunteers to take another flight in exchange for a voucher. After […]

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15 Hours in Paris

(Location: Paris, France) We were in London for the weekend, and decided to take the three-hour Chunnel train to Paris. We were literally there for 15 hours. Sleep is for wimps! We stayed at the Paris Hilton (using points), which is practically beneath the Eiffel Tower. As soon as we arrived, we went to the […]

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