40th Birthday Trip to Budapest and Prague With My Parents

My mom has always mentioned that she would love to see the Christmas markets in Europe. Given I’m still making up for missed trips due to COVID, I suggested that we make the journey to Europe this year to see some Christmas markets. My dad suggested Budapest and Prague. Of course perhaps I also wanted to go because I was turning 40 and felt like I deserved a special trip for my birthday. Ten years prior, for my 30th, I…

Discovering Melbourne: Victoria Market & St. Kilda Penguins

Our second full day in Melbourne was the day of the Grand Final, but we had other plans. We started with a visit to the well know Victoria Market. For us it was a stop on our tram ride to the city so an easy stop. We planned to eat breakfast there. Later we would continue our tram ride out to the beach community of St. Kilda and see the St. Kilda penguins. To begin our day, however, we needed…

Noodles, Art, and Sand

When you think of international travel, what places come to mind? Caribbean countries and Europe probably come to mind most readily. However, there are many places to travel which will not have the hordes of tourists you might find in some of these places. May I suggest Taiwan as one such place. In 1971 when I toured around the world, Taiwan was one of the places we visited so last year when my daughter suggested my wife and I meet…