Last week, Claudia Looi from Travel Writing Pro nominated us to take on the 7 Links Challenge. Thanks Claudia!

Purpose: “To unite bloggers (from all sectors) in a joint endeavor to share lessons learned and create a bank of long but not forgotten blog posts that deserve to see the light of day again.”

Our role now is to select our 7  favorite posts in 7 intriguing categories and then pass on the baton to five awesome bloggers.

Here are the seven links we’ve chosen and the fabulous folks we’ve nominated to carry the torch:… CONTINUE READING >>

Maybe I was too jet lagged. Maybe it was too early in the morning. Maybe it was the ten extra pounds of delicious-food Europe weight. Maybe 50-ish is a bit too old to take up a new trick this physical – the reflexes ain’t what they used to be! Maybe I should shut up and stop… CONTINUE READING  and watch the video >>

Courir de Mardi Gras This rural Mardi Gras celebration involves costumed men dancing on horseback, begging for gumbo ingredients and chicken chasing!
La Grande Boucherie des Cajuns A tradition older than Mardi Gras, is a communal hog butcher and meat fest.
King Cake A cake with a small plastic baby inside.
Fais do-do See what Cajuns do once the kids go… CONTINUE READING >>

Over the past few years, we have had to relearn how to shop and cook for just the two of us. That fell into the unexpected for me. I don’t know why, but it was not something that I thought of before the clearing out of the nest… CONTINUE READING >>

But Barcelona, quite frankly, would not be the city that it is today had it not been for Antoni Gaudí and his… CONTINUE READING >>

16 boxes to be exact. Close to 30 years of marriage and 3 kids later, we’re whittled down to 16 boxes, most them in storage. Many of these boxes are tagged to go directly to the kids… CONTINUE READING >>

From the Human Statues of La Rambla to the deep dark interior of the Quarter to the sea, we find everything the Barri Gòtic has to offer. Music, ruins, street performers and protesters…this place has it all!  CONTINUE READING >>

We had a bit of a joyous dilemma: Where would we go on our “real empty nest” trip? You see, The Boy graduates college this Spring and we want to celebrate by going somewhere really special – no more tuition payments! We found a program, RoadScholar.org, that fit our ideals perfectly – but after narrowing our dream trips down to three, we couldn’t land on just one. Yes, there was “heated discussion” involved.

With a little help from our friends (okay, a LOT of help), we’ve made our decision! Of course, it was… CONTINUE READING >>

I’m not talking about the feel good human interest pieces, those have always been a part of journalism, but when did viral videos become news? It seems that anytime I have a chance to tune into the news, I get treated to the latest YouTube sensation. Since when did cute cats, talking babies and folks getting hit in the nuts become fare that rivals the important events of the day?

Add that to the… CONTINUE READING >>

What would a visit to Spain be without sampling the tapas? Incomplete we’d say. But then tapas are a culinary style that is right up our alley, kind of a national tradition of appy crawling.

We were determined to get our mitts on every type of tapa we could during our stay in Barcelona. We believe we achieved greatness.

The tradition of appetizers in the afternoon has several stories pertaining to its origin, but they all… CONTINUE READING >>

Unfortunately, we’ve hit a snag. We can’t decide on our own which trip to take. And, yes, there has been some “heated discussion.” After WEEKS of exploring the opportunities, we’ve narrowed our choices down to three trips. Please help us decide which one to take!

Where would you go? Which would you… CONTINUE READING >>

Receiving this sort of frustrated Tweet is not uncommon for us, this one came while sitting with our morning coffee in a hotel cafe. I had just returned from using the lobby bathroom where I overheard a cell phone conversation in the stall next to me.

Yes, I admit I was eavesdropping – but I have two lame excuses.

1) We had just… CONTINUE READING >>

Barcelona has many treasures, but one stood out to us above all the others, literally and figuratively, Sagrada Família.

The massive church is without a doubt the pinnacle of architect and designer Antoni Gaudí’s incredible career. And we do mean pinnacle. Huge spires rise into the sky over fifty stories high – and it’s not even finished yet… CONTINUE READING >>

The Huffington Post Ann Brenoff

They are the anti-empty nesters. When David and Veronica James’ last child left for college, they metaphorically stripped down to their underwear and did a happy dance. Job done; case closed; new life chapter about to be written.

Today, they are best-known as the Gypsy Nesters — the married-for-almost-three-decades couple who gave up their brick-and-mortar home for a virtual home on the road. They are semi-retired boomers who roam the globe full-time, approaching each day as an adventure and celebrating the freedom of being unshackled from the responsibilities of parenthood.

Their motto: Our only plan is to not have a plan.

The Jameses see themselves as both… CONTINUE READING >>

The facade, with the black and white layered stripes of marble and slate is typical of Genoa (or Genova to the Italians), was finished in 1312.

AND a bomb is housed… CONTINUE READING >>

Sharing smiles with strangers has long been a personal philosophy of mine, at times to the occasional chagrin of David and the embarrassment of my former teenaged kids, but this year I want to… CONTINUE READING >>