Blonde and Brunette were in Dublin to attend a two day travel bloggers' conference. After Day One our extraordinary intellect had already absorbed the critical information from the conference for both days (remarkable) so we played hooky and went on a day trip out of the city. Our first day in Dublin we'd met with with Simon O'Connor who is the co-director of the City of a … [Read more...]
Capture the Color Photo Essay Contest
For a change we will try to leave the speaking (primarily) to the photographs: White: We were visiting Turkey but had no plan to see whirling dervishes. We thought they would just be cheesy shows put on for tourists. But our guide took us to an evening show at a caravanserai outside Cappadocia. There was nothing cheesy or fake in any way as we watched in fascination as … [Read more...]
A home exchange and a flatulent turtle in Madrid
After 5 weeks in Spain Blonde and Brunette were fairly bedraggled. We'd had a wonderful time but had also had many frustrations, not every single one of which was our fault. Maybe. We had arranged to exchange Blonde's condo in Boston for both a condo in Spain on the lovely Costa Brava and a home, from the same family, in Madrid. We knew the home in Madrid was in the suburbs … [Read more...]
Was government surveillance focused on Blonde and Brunette in Seville?
After two days of intensive sightseeing in Seville in withering heat we decided that we had seen the major sights and that was enough of that. It was time to find somewhere to swim! This was the first town in nearly 5 weeks of being in Spain where the swimming sisters did not have access to a pool or a beach. Brunette determined that the best course of action for our final day … [Read more...]
Our hot quickie in Cordoba, Spain!
One positive thing came out of the nearly 7 hours we spent in the Renfe train station in Barcelona trying to get someone, anyone, to know what to do with the discounted train passes we had purchased online before our trip. That one positive thing was that once we finally reached a manager, and rudely interrupted him planning a vacation for himself in Malta, he became very … [Read more...]
Places we’ve loved: Collioure, France
When Blonde and Brunette did our first home exchange we committed to a month in Calella Palafrugell in the Costa Brava (aka Catalan) region of Spain. We’d spent three weeks in the region the previous year so were looking for new places to explore this time. We were told that Collioure, France was a lovely coastal town less than two hours from our home base. It … [Read more...]
A few of the many reasons you should visit Iceland!
Reykjavik Iceland’s capitol city is a very manageable size, hustle and bustle free without being a slacker, and so honest that even if two women were stupid enough to leave their car doors locked but the back gate to their SUV unlocked for hours, allowing anyone instant access to the contents of a medium-sized electronics store with a respectable selection of women’s clothing … [Read more...]
Our one year anniversary of travel blogging
We began this blog barely a year ago. It was begun with no goal other than to see if people would enjoy reading about our travels, our frequently-inadvisable behavior and our humor. After more than 10 years of traveling as a sister duo Blonde and Brunette (thanks to Brunette) had a treasure trove of notes and what we thought was an endless supply of stories and photos. Blonde … [Read more...]
Big Buddha, Phuket, Thailand
Blonde and Brunette were in Thailand recently and cashed in our last stash of beloved SPG points to stay at Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort. In a rare case of us being sensible we had chosen not to rent a car for our time in Thailand. We had chosen our resort in part because it was an out of town, quiet destination. We didn't want to stay in the crazy cacophony that is … [Read more...]
A decidedly non-hostile hostel in Boston
Blonde had actual work that she would be well paid to do sitting on her desk at home, a Spanish class to study for and a house to get ready to put on the real estate market. She considered those options then went out for a walk and ended up spontaneously interviewing a very patient, charming young woman with hair better than a best-in-show Irish Setter's and a mini-nose … [Read more...]