Category: Travel

Scotland: Inverness

On By JC ThrashIn Travel

Part Two: Inverness

The train ride to Inverness was absolutely gorgeous. With wonderful views of the central highlands and Cairngorms National Park, the three and a half hours passed by quickly.

When we arrived at Inverness, we changed trains to get to the Inverness airport stop, where our hotel was located. With limited time in the afternoon, we decided to go out to Elgin and Forrest, just east of Inverness, to check out a super old cathedral in Elgin, and dinner and distillery in Forres.

The Elgin Cathedral was super neat (you guessed it – also covered by the Explorer’s Pass, see Edinburgh), but for folks limited to trains and walking, I probably wouldn’t recommend it. It was quite the hike from the train stop, and there wasn’t much else to do within walking distance. If you’re driving by the area en route to the highlands, however, it’s worth the stop.

Forres was a super cute town, though. We had dinner at Mosset Tavern, which was delicious. We shared a cullen sink (creamy fish chowder) and a smoked fish. The walk from the restaurant to the train station was partially along a creak and through a park, which was nice, and there are other strolls in the area that we were interested in, but ran out of time for. Sadly, we also ran out of time for the distillery (Benromach). Next time!

Our train home was cancelled, and unable to find a taxi, we had to wait at the station for an hour for the next train. Definitely a bummer, as we hoped for an early night to start our next day bright and early. By the time the next train arrived, we were the only two aboard. The conductor chatted with us for a bit, with the thickest Scottish accent we’d encountered yet, but he was very chatty and friendly, momentarily easing our frustrations with the travel issues.

On Wednesday morning, we took the train over to Inverness to catch the bus to Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle. We had originally planned to rent a car, and we’re glad we decided not to; the Ember bus was only £2! It’s a nice coach bus, not a city bus, and very comfortable for the 35-minute ride. The ride feature gorgeous views along Loch Ness; definitely snag a lake-side seat if you can!

The bus dropped us off at the car park of the Urquhart Castle – convenient, since folks who drive must book parking in advance, the lot was already full – and we walked down to the castle for free entry with our Explorer’s Pass.

The history of this castle was incredibly interesting: they don’t have record of who lived there in its earliest times, but from year 1200 and on, the castle switched hands between the Scots and English several times (and before that, Picts and perhaps Vikings?). During an uprising when the fort was in English hands, shortly after being under siege, the English deliberately blew it up, sending the message that, If we can’t have it, we definitely don’t want the Scots to have it!

The castle has multiple levels to explore with gorgeous views of Loch Ness from every angle (no Nessie sightings, sadly). The one thing to keep in mind if opting into the bus is that it only runs about every hour. While convenient to have that reliable transport, we just had to be pretty strategic with our timing. For example, I think the perfect amount of time for the castle would have a been a bit over an hour to 90 minutes, but we had either 55 minutes, or a bit over 2 hours. Big difference!

After the castle, we booked an Ember bus back to Drumnadrochit for lunch (Fiddlers Highland Restaurant, good but pricey), and then back to Inverness to explore the town for the afternoon.

The stroll along River Ness was really lovely, enjoying the parks, gardens, water and architecture during our walk. After a bit under a mile, we reached the Ness Islands, a small island park in the midst of the river. On the other side is the botanical gardens (closed by that point) which we walked along on the way back to the city center.

Several different people (and travel books) recommend Inverness as a home base, but not necessarily a city to spend much time in, but we really enjoyed it. The city boasts several walking areas and parks, and has a lot of natural beauty to offer. In addition to the Ness Islands, we also took the city bus to the northern edge of the city, along the Beauly Firth, the Merkinch Local Nature Reserve. Folks can often spot dolphins from this area (sadly, we did not) but the water stroll was really nice, with beautiful views of snow-capped Ben Wyvis in the distance.

Once we rounded back on the path from the waterfront, we headed up the hill of Craig Phadrig. It was a steep but really lovely hike through a pine forest, with the occassional views of the firth, Ben Wyvis, and Inverness as we continued to climb. Lots of locals go here to walk their dogs. It is a bit confusing as there is no signage on the trails, but we managed to find the top with some advice from one of the local dog-moms.

At the top is the site of an ancient Pictish fort. Now, it’s just a field of grass at the peak, but not long ago, a large tree fell uprooting pieces of the land, revealing remains of a fort wall. Excavation in 1971 determined that: the fort was likely built around 500BC; the ramparts were thought to have stood eight meters tall. According to legend, this is were St. Columba came to meet Pictish King Brude with the mission of converting the Picts to Christianity.

For dinner, we went to the Mustard Seed, which came highly recommended and had won awards. It was mediocre at best, and I much enjoyed the other pubs and taverns we popped into throughout our stay:

  • Innis Bar – we came here for lunch for soup and shared a toastie. The service was friendly and food decent.
  • MacGregor’s – we didn’t eat here (just happened in prior to their kitchen opening), but we enjoyed a half pint and a dram
  • Glenalbyn – we popped into here for a quick pint before dinner. The mood was light with a decent beer selection
  • Urquhart’s Restaurant – came here for dinner for my last steak and ale pie – it was pretty tasty. We barely squeaked in, though; definitely a place where reservations are needed
  • Castle Tavern – probably gets touristy during more peak times, but it was a really nice spot for a pint and to relax for a while.

Things we didn’t get to:

When we initially had a car rental, we planned to do a hike in addition to exploring Loch Ness. Since we found such convenient (and CHEAP) public transit to Loch Ness, we opted out of the car. This was the right decision for Loch Ness, the bus was absolutely the right choice, but without a car, we were limited on our hiking options. Based on my research, particularly using Walk Highlands, I had identified two hikes:

Ben Wyvis, one of the largest Munros in proximity to Inverness. My thought here, concerning driving, was that it wouldn’t be too long or scary of a drive. The hike is long though, and challenging, but there is also Little Wyvis if its bigger sister’s 8 miles is too intense. Both have expansive highland views.

Thus, if I could do the trip again, I would have passed on the afternoon in Elgin and Forres, and instead taken the ember bus to Loch Ness on the day we arrived from Edinburgh. We got to Inverness around 1pm, which would have been sufficient time to explore the castle and enjoy the loch views. That would have left our next full day to pick up a rental car and pick one or two hikes that are inaccessible via public transit, like Ben Wyvis or Little Wyvis.

Alternatively, we could have remained scared of the rental car and taken the train back down to Aviemore (we had passed the town on the way north from Edinburgh). I think we hesitated on this due to Aviemore being such a tourist trap town, but there are several hikes accessible from the town center, like Craigellachie. It seems that most visitors probably go into Cairngorms National Park, so perhaps the more moderately challenging Craigellachie hike wouldn’t have been too busy, and boasts excellent views of the national park from the summit.

Lastly, you may be wondering — a trip to the highlands, but no Isle of Skye? We discussed it, but ultimately decided it we’d rather explore less crowded/touristy areas. It’s also such a hike out of the way, five hours from Edinburgh and three from Inverness. We looked into a bunch of tour companies, too, but they were all 10-12-hour marathons, quick tourist-grabs to take some selfies at all the top spots, but no time to actually explore. Next time, we’ll reserve a few days and actually commit to spending some time out there, rather than just a day trip.

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Inverness Lez-Travel rating:

Inverness was an interesting place. I never felt unsafe, but there were some surprised looks upon folks realizing we were together. One bartender asked if we were sisters, and we responded that we were married, and he didn’t bother to try and suppress his shock at the news “Oooooooh. Oh. …Really!? Okay! Uh. Great!” (it was awkward).

Scotland: Edinburgh

On By JC ThrashIn Travel

Day One: Jetlag & Reunions

I can’t remember a time when Scotland wasn’t on the top of my list; I have always wanted to go. Even when studying abroad in London, I never made it up to Edinburgh; I was too poor to afford the cross-island train ride.

But now, it’s finally happened. The long-awaited Scottish voyage.

We flew into Edinburgh (via Philadelphia) and landed around 7:00am. We took a cab to the hotel; it was pretty pricey, but worth it for us, with our bags. There are direct coaches and trams that go to the city centre, but for our hotel location (near Holyrood palace), it would have been a pain. Our cab drive circled the Edinburgh Castle on three sides, and it’s absolutely breathtaking — the pictures do not do it justice, the way it sits up atop a cliff ominously surveying the city from above.

When we arrived at the hotel, our room wasn’t ready just yet. They guided us to the gym and spa area in the basement, which featured some changing rooms. After freshening up, we stored our luggage and headed back out.

Holyrood Park is just by our hotel, and it was a nice, relatively warm day, so we headed that way first. We didn’t have our premier gear, so we held off on the big hike up to Arthur’s Seat and instead traversed the park straight through the middle, which avoided most hills but was still beautiful.

Once through the park, we walked for a while along the perimeter; at the northwest side of the park, we crossed the street and headed towards a pub, the Holyrood 9A. The bartender boasted excellent burgers, but we weren’t quite ready for a full meal and just had two half-pints to sample some of the local beers.

From there, we headed up to the city centre and walked through the Old Town (specifically the Royal Mile), which was touristy and crowded, but lovely to see the old architecture. We listened to a young bagpiper for a moment and then proceeded up the Royal mile to the Museum of Scotland, where we planned to meet our friend.

Two of our closest friends from when we lived in Boston just moved to France (perks of a dual citizenship!). We have not seen them since they moved out there, and were ecstatic when they asked about meeting us in Edinburgh! Their flight landed at 12:30pm, and they planned to meet us at the museum. It was a lovely reunion!

Suddenly hungry, tired, bodies confused and jetlag setting in, we left the museum after exploring just one floor and headed to find a pub for a snack. (Note: the Museum of Scotland is highly rated and FREE. Our plan was to come back on an inclement weather day, but, oh darn, we didn’t have any of those!)

We also popped in to St. Giles Cathedral. Don’t crumble under the pressure to donate (like I did); or, if you spent a long time in there and appreciate the experience, donate on your way out. We thought the cathedral was just fine – but certainly worth popping in if you’re walking by it on the Royal Mile. They ask for a requested donation amount — but it is not required and the cathedral is in fact free to enter.

Our friend had made an early dinner reservation for 5pm, so after our Royal Mile explorations, we headed to The World’s End, a pub at the start of the Old Town. My wife ordered the fish and chips and I got the steak and ale pie, which was delicious.

The jetlagged ladies (our French friends were only one hour off, so this just references my wife and me!) headed to bed just after dinner in the hopes of catching up on lost sleep. (And indeed, I slept for 11 hours).

Day 2: Arthur’s Seat

Day 2 brought us back to Holyrood park; this time, to climb Arthur’s Seat, the tallest peak in the park (and in and around Edinburg). A 300-million-year extinct volcano, Arthur’s Seat brags a climb up to a naked rock cliff which 360-degree breathtaking views of the city.

We chose Arthur’s Seat for day 2 because it was projected to be the warmest, sunniest day. Not that we minded a hike in less-than-perfect weather, but we wanted the clear skies to maximize our views! In retrospect, everyone else had the same idea, so it was massively crowded. The hike isn’t very long, with an elevation gain of around 250 meters; translation: there is just not a lot of space to spread out. Next time, I’ll take the road less traveled by – which is a grueling hike up a manmade rock stairway, which seemed very lightly traveled when we had walked by the day prior. Once you climb the stair, you arrive to an open grassy area with a less populated, slightly lower peak to enjoy before deciding whether the climb the crowded main peak or move on.

As we neared the top, the path narrows into stairs that struggle to accommodate two-way traffic. My friends and I watched a family with a young children climb up an incredibly steep incline on a grassy slope that few were braving; “if that child can do it, then we can!” my friend said, to which I replied, “she is much lower the ground!!” We headed up that route nonetheless, and it was worth avoiding the crowds (for the time). The views at the top were amazing, but honestly? Not worth the crowds, as the views at the lower peak were also incredible, and you didn’t have to fight for space.

On our way back down on the southern edge of the park, we continued on south around the loch and a woodsy staircase to reach Sheep Heid Inn, one of the oldest pubs in Edinburgh. We shared some snacks while enjoying half-pints; the food was good and the service very friendly.

Since we had already hiked a ways, we decided to continue the trend and stroll onward to Craigmillar Castle.

It was a long walk, starting off on a narrow sidewalk on a narrow road – not super pleasant – but when we reached the Craigmillar neighborhood, we shifted to a shaded path a bit off the road that goes directly to the castle. As happens in Scotland, the skies opened up out of nowhere and rain began to shower on us; it was coming down rather hard, and we were only moderately prepared, so we reached the castle a bit cold and damp. Fortunately, the rain stopped and skies cleared for our castle exploration.

Craigmillar Castle, although admittedly off the beaten path of Edinburgh, was super neat. It was not particularly crowded (and we entered with our Explorer’s Pass*), and super fun to explore.

It was a big day with a significant number of steps, and we earned our dinner – Indian, at Dishoom. It’s a local chain with a few locations in London and across England, I believe, but well worth it – some of the best Indian food I’ve had.

Day 3: Day Trip!

For our daytrip, we boarded the train for a few stops up to Linlithgow. Our hope was to bike along the canal path, but finding places to rent bikes were limited, and mostly outside the town center. Instead, we strolled up to Linlithgow Palace (also included in the Explorer’s Pass). Like Craigmillar, Linlithgow is castle ruins, but a good deal larger than Craigmillar. You can use an audio guide (downloaded to your phone) which is included in admission, but lord, the narrator talked SO SLOWLY we couldn’t stomach it and instead relied on the signs to learn about the castle.

On the castle grounds is a beautiful view of the loch, which you can also enjoy from the various towers you are able to climb. Stairs throughout the palace take you to various levels and sublevels, and even after all the time we spent there, I’m certain I missed something.

For the afternoon, our friends headed off to a farm to look at some highland cows (“Hairy coos!”) while my wife and I hopped the train up to Stirling Castle (ALSO included in our Explorer’s Pass! We’re all about getting our money’s worth, and then some!) Stirling Castle – not ruins like the others – was massive; some of the castle is still in use, but you’re able to walk the grounds, ramparts (my favorite part), and view some palace rooms that are staged appropriate for the time. The walk up to the castle from the train station is not for the faint of heart, but the views were worth it.

On our return from Edinburgh, we took our bartender from day for his word and returned to Holyrood 9A. It’s a cozy spot, and the burger was quite good, indeed! We also tried haggis for the first time. It was tasty, but also breaded and deep-fried; is that cheating?

Day Four: Botanical Gardens & Water of Leith

Our perfect weather couldn’t last forever, and Sunday morning was CHILLY. Leaving the hotel in the morning, we decided to start at the Edinburgh Botanical Gardens; too far to walk and too inconvenient for public transit, we treated ourselves to a cab.

Despite the cold, the botanical gardens were absolutely gorgeous. Beautifully manicured, with much already in bloom, we spent two hours there are still only captured a fraction of the area.

Following the gardens, we stopped at a pub – The Stockbridge Tap – for a pint and some Scottish eggs before heading to the Sunday Stockbridge Market. Our friends explored some of the man antique and thrift stores while my wife and I feasted on some meat pastries at the market.

From Stockbridge Market, we strolled over to the Water of Leith walkway, following the river path up to Dean Village, an adorable neighborhood nestled around the river.

For dinner, we went to the Salisbury Arms in the southern part of Edinburgh for a traditional British Sunday Roast, which was delicious — a meal I could not have afforded when I was studying abroad in college! The portions were huge, so my wife and I shared one, which was plenty. We took the long walk home around the Holyrood Park to digest, wrapping up our day with a game of Spades in the lounge.

Day Five: all alone

… well, not really. Just that our French friends had to depart Edinburgh! My wife and I took the opportunity to bop around the city to capture all that we had missed in the previous four days. We started by hiking up to Calton Hill, which (and I know I’ve said this a few times) offered beautiful views of the city. From there, we braved Edinburgh Castle, despite fearing the crowds, besides it’s covered in the Explorer’s Pass! The grounds were indeed so crowded that we didn’t stick around for long (queue to get in, then queue to see each individual part of the castle), but it was neat to see, and worthwhile only because we had “free” entry with our explorer’s pass.

From our exit from the castle, we passed through the fancy area of Grassmarket. We popped in Cloisters Bar, which featured some specials, and shared fish and chips. The food was just fine, but the beer selection was vast and unique. The bartender allowed us to try a few options before making our selections, and we enjoyed some beers we hadn’t seen before, particularly cask pours that were smooth and flavorful – yum!

After our lunchtime snack, we moved into the Meadows – a large urban park alongside University of Edinburgh. The cherry blossoms were in bloom and lined most of the park paths on either side for a striking stroll. We walked the length of the park, ending at Dagda Bar, which was fine at best – honestly, it seemed a bit run down and the bartender sat at his laptop behind the bar giving zero shits about the job or his customers.

Our casual day somehow turned into the most walking we had done over the long weekend, even our Arthur’s Seat hiking day! Granted, we pretty much walked the extent of the city, starting with the climb up Calton Hill, but when we got back to our hotel, we crashed hard after packing up our bags.

On Day 6, we take a train to Inverness, which I’ll cover in my next post!

Notes:

What they don’t tell you about Edinburgh: THE HILLS. Yes, I knew Edinburgh was hilly. I did not know that it was a 3-dimensional city, like a real-life Minas Tirith. Everywhere you go involves streets with steep inclines and alleys with a massive staircase. So. Many. Stairs. A 5 minute walk alone can be a significant workout, and will always take you longer than you expect.

Explorer’s Pass: I didn’t know this was a thing until we arrived in Scotland, but it was well worth its value. The pass gives you free entry into many historical sites of Scotland, including most castles and cathedrals in the greater Edinburgh area, most notably, Edinburgh Castle and Stirling Castle. We also used it for: Linlithgow Palace, Craigmillar Castle, Uruqhart Castle, and Elgin Cathedral.

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Edinburgh Lez-Travel rating:

Young, hip and student-heavy of a population, Edinburgh was incredibly gay-friendly!

Jesuit Pilgrimage and the Game of Thrones: Barcelona Day-Trips

On By JC ThrashIn Travel

Day Five: Montserrat 

There are tons of different ways to explore Montserrat, with dozens of tour companies taking advantage of tourists to offer big “excursions” for big money. I’m sure many of these are wonderful for those who want to do tapas, and wineries, and distilleries, and big coach buses, but for me and my wife, we just wanted to view the basilica – and hike.

Montserrat

If I could do it again, I would have started at the first transport up the mountain, as my only grievance was that we didn’t have enough time to explore all that we wanted to see. We did pieces of a few trails, but didn’t have the time for the longer hikes.

Getting there:

Because we wanted the maximum amount of free time to explore and hike around, we opted out of one of those company excursions with all-inclusive activities and instead purchased the “Trans Montserrat Ticket” from Turisme de Barcelona Information Office at Plaça de Catalunya. It’s not something you can buy online and just show on your phone; you have to go in person. You can buy them in advance if you know when you’re going; we simply purchased the day-of; however, if we had known for sure in advance which day we planned to travel to Montserrat, we would have purchased and picked up our card in advance to save some time day-of. There is also a “TOT Montserrat card” which includes everything we purchased, plus a buffet lunch.

The card includes:

  • round-trip train fare (you don’t have to pick the time in advance). The train is basically a commuter rail, not a high-speed train, so be prepared to make plenty of stops.
  • round-trip train or cable car to Montserrat. You must choose at the time of purchase between the rack railway car or the cable car*
  • unlimited rides on the funiculars. There are 2 funiculars, which grant you convenient access to the multiple levels of the mountain. We took the one to the very top to hike!
  • Access to the cathedral and audiovisual space.

*We did the cable car, and I’m glad we did – the views were incredible and it was honestly pretty awesome. Some things to note though: 1) for those claustrophobic, they really pack you in like sardines; 2) I would not recommend for folks scared of heights; 3) the journey is quick, but know that it’s standing room only for those with limited accessibility; and, 4) even in the off-season – early December – on a weekday, the line was long. We waited probably 15-20 minutes to board our car. There are only 2 cars that continuously loop, so were I to do this in peak season, I’d probably opt towards the rack rail to avoid waiting in a 45-minute+ line.

Day Six: Game of Thrones?

It happened again. Sickness strikes abroad.

We had another slow morning with a light breakfast and sudafed before taking the high-speed rail to Girona.

The train was about 40 minutes. We grabbed a snack of an incredible, loaded salmon toast from a bar on a square and then followed a guide through the old town. The bartender was very friendly and patient; she really appreciated our efforts to try speaking Spanish. The absolute coolest part was the city walls that originally enclosed the town (now, of course, the town spreads within and beyond the walls). The walls and towers are open access, and offer incredible views of the city. 

Several scenes from Game of Thrones were filmed here as well, and those interested can pay for Game of Thrones walking tours to show you all of the spots. We did our tour self-guided, but still made the effort to visit those locations from the show.

View if Girona, Spain from atop the town walls.

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Lez-Travel Rating:

This is a bit trickier to rate since we didn’t have much interaction with others. I’d be inclined to be distrustful of Montserrat, with it’s Catholic affiliation. Girona, a smaller town, seemed fine – while we didn’t notice any significance of gay pride showing, we felt safe.

Barcelona

On By JC ThrashIn Travel

Day 1: the dangers of early check-in

Typically, in flights from Columbus, OH, we connect in Philadelphia when traveling to Europe. It’s a drab place (I know, I have spent a whole night here before – thanks U.S. Airways), but an American Airlines hub. My wife travels for work and has earned a depressingly high level of status and perks with American. 

This trip, I picked up some travel books from the library. I haven’t done this before, but always will from now on – they have the newish publications, it’s zero dollars, and why buy a travel book for just six days when you’re going to be stuck with it? Even if we return to Barcelona (I hope we do! It was awesome!), we would need the newer version. It also allowed us to compare notes. 

I’m getting ahead of myself. So, my wife’s perks landed us to the fanciest of fancy American lounges, our ticket earned in combination with our international tickets and my wife’s ultra-status. They greet us with a glass of champagne, which we carry amidst giggles to a bartop area by the windows. Not only do they have an open bar and full buffet, but also meals to order – all for free. Never has a six-hour layover been more fun. 

My wife tackled the Lonely Planet and I picked up the Fodor’s, and we started planning our trip – which we hadn’t done at all – besides booking tickets to la Sagrada Familia. After six hours of snacking, drinking, and planning, we made our way towards our red-eye flight, landing in Barcelona around 8:00am. We hailed a cab from the airport (very reasonable fare, particularly as uber and lyft are rare–and frowned upon) to our hotel. 

By a stroke of luck (and aforementioned wife’s status), we were able to check in at 9am. We headed to our room, freshened up, and then broke all the rules on adjusting to the time change. The second my head hit the pillow, feeling how incredibly and impossibly comfortable I felt, I said “uh oh” and fell immediately into a deep sleep. 

Our alarms went off 2 minutes later (hours, it was 2 hours), but our struggles to get up and ready caused us to miss our city walking tour. We had booked through one of the “free” companies, so we notified them and then planned our afternoon using our handy library guidebooks. 

We chose a self-guided tour around the gothic area, Barcelona’s old town. We purchased a 10-ride transit pass (no expiration) which worked well for us, since some days, we didn’t use transit at all, and used buses almost as often as the metro. We landed at Plaça de Catalunya and wandered around for a bit (it was heavily under construction) before moving into the Gothic area.

Had we been more prepared, we would have downloaded Rick Steves’ free audioguide for this neighborhood, but we followed his route in any case. We explored the area around the Catedral de Barcelona (we didn’t pay for entry), but enjoyed walking around the area and enjoying some of the history as shared by Rick Steves. There are free hours to enter the Cathedral, but – we hadn’t timed it just right. No matter – it was a gorgeous day and plenty enjoyable to view all of the narrows streets, plazas, and gothic architecture. 

We stopped at Bar del Pla, one of the few places that’s open during the pre-dinner time (most restaurants do not open for dinner until 7:30 or 8pm). It was crowded, but they made space for us after first trying to seat us by the toilets. We ordered wine (I believe I got the house red, which was low-cost and delicious) a few tapas – tomato bread, croquettes, and our first of many experiences with jamon iberico. 

After our pre-dinner snacks/ late lunch, we continued walking the neighborhood where each “street” is a tiny alley that all wind around like a maze. We eventually find what we’re looking for — the Basílica de Santa Maria del Mar. We expected to have to pay (listed as five euro), but the entry for us was free. 

Our selected destination for dinner didn’t open until 8pm, so we popped in to a cocktail bar on the same plaza: Cocktail Bar Mudanzas. The drinks were unique, colorful, and incredibly strong!

For dinner, we showed up just after 8pm, mere minutes after the restaurant opened, and it was already slammed: Cal Pep. The staff squeezed us in at the bartop. The restaurant has no menu, just a chalkboard list of the daily offerings, listed in Spanish. The server went very quickly through the options, and we agreed to too many things, not always knowing what we were signing up for – but it was all incredible.

Day Two: the Scam

I admit it. We were scammed (kinda). 

I’m ashamed.

While on our way home from a camping trip, our cousins who had just traveled to Barcelona messaged us saying, “OMG! You haven’t bought tickets for Sagrada Família yet?! You need to — NOW.” For the record, folks visiting in the off-season are probably just fine by purchasing tickets a few days or week in advance, but our cousins had traveled to Barcelona in July.

So, with our cell phones as our only devices, we quickly purchased tickets without doing due diligence. When we arrived at the basilica (note: they turned people away for arriving late, so you must arrive during your ticket window), we used our scammy tickets to enter (second note: the security of the basilica is more thorough than Spanish Border Control).

Once inside, we realized our tickets were sold third-party and the audio guide would not download on the free Sagrada Família Wi-Fi. We approached staff to request the visitor audio guides, but since our tickets were purchased third party (for double the price), we were not able to utilize the basilica’s audio guide.

Inside of Sagrada Familia

So – we still were able to enter, explore one of the towers, and view the masterpiece that is Sagrada Família, but not having access to an audio guide was a huge bummer. I take responsibility for this screw-up; we’re typically way more careful and have always noticed the websites that pay google to show up first in the search, mimicking and impersonating the legit websites — but still, beware the third-party sellers out there, that sell tickets to the basilica for twice or ten times the cost that the Sagrada Família actually charges, and with fewer resources and access. They make their website look as close to identical as the real thing as possible and purchase a domain as close as possible, like, SagradaFamília.org. If we hadn’t been in a rush, I’m confident we would have realized our error. And – at least we got to see it!

After the Sagrada Família, we wandered through the plaza (Plaça de la Sagrada Família) for a final, different view of the basilica. We popped into a bar that had just opened for a quick beer and bathroom break while we used the bar’s Wi-Fi to check out some options for a late lunch. We decided to get a bit away from the touristy area and walked about a mile to La Pepita. It was a hip bar with excellent tapas. 

To round out our afternoon, we walked up to Gaudi-designed mansion La Pedrera – Casa Milà. We purchased tickets at the door (note: you can save a few euros per person by purchasing in advance online). The tour includes an audio guide and headset. I would definitely recommend catching the sunset; the views from the roof were incredible.

Following la Pedrera, it was about time for dinner – already 7:30pm, but we were still the first people at the restaurant – a back-alley spot known for its paella. The service was friendly, but the paella was just fine, unfortunately, and the walk to get to the restaurant was, at best, uneasy, especially for two women. Drunk men watched the women’s every movement, and the restaurant was situated along a dark alley with a rank smell and belligerent humans. For those reasons, I’d steer clear of this restaurant. Sketchy alleys aside, this is Barcelona! We can’t stand for mediocre paella!

Day Three: BARCA

Day 3 welcomed my wife’s biggest dream: Barca futbol match. The match started early afternoon, and we had a slow morning before heading out from the hotel — too slow, really; we had planned to venture through the Jardines de pedralbes, but ran out of time. 

Our hotel breakfast was excellent, so we just wanted something light for lunch; we strolled into one of the small neighborhood bars near our hotel (we were walking distance from the football stadium): Bar Lucas. We just had some pan con tomate and croquetas. 

Spotify Camp Nou stadium has been under construction for a while, and we attended one of the first matches since it opened back up. It was still under construction in some areas, so we unfortunately were unable to do a full walk around the stadium concourse, but it was exciting to see their home stadium and experience the enthusiasm of the fan base (even for me, and I didn’t grow up on soccer like my wife did!).

After the match (Barca won!), we headed back to our hotel to watch the Ohio State v. Michigan futbol de America game (we just can’t help ourselves). Go Bucks!

Day Four: Castles and Gaudí

Sunday brought us from one corner of Barcelona to the other. We began our day with our ticketed entry at Park Guell, via the city bus. The city bus in Barcelona is an experience; locals are incredibly pushy with the transit, and to hell with the ethical understanding of “let people exit first before you enter.” I’d be waiting to exit at the next time right by the rear door, and be pushed out of the way for people trying to go first. We lived in Boston for seven years, so it’s nothing shocking to us, but… it’s there.

Anyway, we began exploring by following the path of Rick Steves (which we affectionately refer to as Ricky-Recommends). We climbed the steep hill to the cross (great views of the park and the city) and took the windy path back down to view more Gaudí architecture. 

I find Gaudí’s work to be quite cool – albeit odd – but Park Guell was a level of crowded, even in the off-season, that stressed me to the core. I wanted to venture off into the adjoining urban park to enjoy nature with fewer humans, but my wife was starting to get hungry and feared getting lost. So, we finished our exploration  – my favorites were the mosaic tiles on the ceiling and the stone columns that, if I remember right, was a driveway or parking area for the rich people’s carriages? – and headed out.

We climbed down the hill and walked about a mile to the metro, taking us back to the city center. Our afternoon plan was to explore Montjuïc Castle and the area; typically, you can take a Funicular (same fare as the metro) up the hill. Unfortunately, the funicular was closed during our visit, so we took the 150 bus. The bus was pleasant enough and offered a nice few of the Montjuïc area on our way up (take heed, those with motion sickness); the bus stops at the top of the hill, just below the castle.

On Sunday evening, the castle is free, so we passed through security and admissions; they handed us our free ticket and we entered the fortress area.

The castle walls offer an unparalleled view of the city (and the water) with a spectacular view of the sunset.

On our way back down the hill, we walked. A lot of the public park areas were under construction and closed off, but it was still a nice stroll with views of the water. 

For dinner, we had made reservations at Tiberi Bar, a cool Mediterranean vegetarian-forward restaurant (still plenty of meat options). We found Tiberi Bar by recommendation from Fodor’s (see, we don’t just follow Rick Steves). With some time before our reservation, we first stopped at Bar Seco for a glass of wine. Bar Seco is also highly recommended for its food, but we only had time a drink.

It was our best meal in Spain; I may drool a bit thinking of it for years to come. They rotate through new menus seasonally, so it may not matter to share what we ordered, but our experience makes us believe that customers of this restaurant can do no wrong.


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Barcelona Lez-Travel rating:

Three rainbows! We felt super comfortable being Out and Proud, and saw plenty of other queer couples during our adventures.

Pacific Northwest

On By JC ThrashIn Bikes & Hikes, Travel

My brother-in-law lives in Washington state, about halfway between Seattle and Vancouver. What a bummer to have to fly out there to visit him.

It’s not even fair how gorgeous it is out there.

Our first full day, a Thursday, my wife and I started to explore while her brother and his girlfriend were at work. At their recommendation, we selected the trail called Oyster Dome, on Blanchard Mountain.

We drove up the first part of the mountain via a long, winding unpaved road. There’s a way to avoid this (adds significant elevation, with no facilities and minimal parking), but we simply navigated to the main parking area (Samish Overlook parking), which bypasses the initial ascent on foot, offering breathtaking views from the start (and toilets!). From the main parking area, it’s still about a 5-mile hike, which was sufficient for us for our first day anyway. The other trailhead is off Chuckanut Drive (must cross state highway to begin hike).

View of the Samish Bay, near the Samish Overlook parking area
View of the Samish Bay, near the Samish Overlook parking area.

We loved this hiking trail. The parking lot is quite large, signaling how busy the area can get, but we started mid-morning on a weekday and fortunately avoided crowds; we only crossed paths with a handful of people, and shared the summit with four others.

The trail begins steep, tackling a bit of the 1000-ft elevation gain, before leveling out through the cedar and fir forest. The trail crosses several creeks. Even while away from the views, the sounds and smells of the forests are incredible.

After enjoying the more level trail for a while, it spikes upward for a significant incline the final ~ half mile. As you continue up the switchback, the trail narrows as well, and becomes a bit more technical. Reaching the top is well worth it! You’re rewarded with a nice, wide rock face to sit and rest while enjoying the breathtaking views. The people of the pacific northwest are so friendly, too! When they discovered we were visiting from Ohio, they offered up other trails to check out, and their favorite meal spots nearby, as well.

We already had a plan for dinner that night, though, and after heading back down the mountain, we drove to downtown Mt. Vernon to meet our brother and his partner.

View from the top of Oyster Dome
View from the top of Oyster Dome.

Day 2

Another work day for our family, my wife and I drove to Larrabee State Park. Offering over a dozen trails to explore, we bopped around, quite sore from Oyster Dome. We drove first to the top of the park for the views, and then hiked a bit of the Ridge Trail before heading back down to the bottom of the mountain for the Clayton Beach trail.

View from Cyrus Gates Overlook

The Clayton Beach trail wound down the hill onto the beach. It’s a short trail overall; fairly steep, but a much more gradual slope than by the overlook. There are some rocky areas near the beach that we climbed up to relax and enjoy the views.

View of the beach in Larrabee State Park
Clayton Beach, Larrabee State Park

Once we wrapped up our time in the state park, we rewarded ourselves with a beer – we first tried “The Oyster Bar,” just off Chuckanut Drive, not realizing that it was fine dining (we were covered in sweat and sand and in our hiking gear, yikes!). We snuck away and instead headed to “Chuckanut Manor” — which sounds fancier but is less so. They had a good happy hour, and we ordered a couple of pints and a snack to share. The food was excellent and view from the patio beautiful.

Following our hike reward, we headed back to our family’s house for dinner. Our brother has gotten into duck hunting, and grilled some duck for us to try. My wife and I had stopped by the cheese store in downtown Mt. Vernon to complement our appetizers with some wine and cheese. Skagit Valley Larder was a great experience – we were able to sample the cheese prior to purchasing it, and they offered some recommendations that would pair well with the cheese (and the duck!)

Day Three

On Saturday, the four of us piled into the truck with the dogs and headed out to Ross Lake National Recreation Area. Just adjacent to North Cascades National Park, we were able to enjoy similarly amazing views … but also bring the dogs (no dogs in national parks, boo). We did the Thunder Knob trail, which was breathtaking but painfully crowded.

If I were to go again, I’d likely select a trail that’s typically less crowded.

On our final day, my wife and I went to Deception Pass before heading back to the Seattle Airport for our red-eye flight home. At Deception Pass, we hiked the Goose Rock Summit trail – which can be either a shorter, steeper out-and-back, or a full loop trail. We did the latter, hiking the steep climb on the way up to grant us the slowly meandering path back down to the parking area.

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PNW Lez-Travel rating:

The Pacific Northwest is an interesting place when it comes to gay travel. There are lesbians everywhere… but you’re in such a rural area, that you meet some closeminded idiots, as well, and certainly see a lot of Trump flags. Based on our experience, these are not the same folks we encounter on the trails or town centers. PNW wins 3 rainbows.

Ireland: In and Around Dublin

On By JC ThrashIn Travel

For our first afternoon in Dublin, we booked a free tour by Generation Tours and saw the top sights of Dublin, which helped formulate our plan for the week. We got dinner at the Oval bar, recommended by our tour guide. It was pretty good, but not the best meal we’d had, and a bit pricier than we thought it deserved. 

From there, we headed to a pub recommended by the musician who played at our wedding!, and as promised, there was excellent music – The Cobblestone. It was crowded, and we could only fit in the back of the pub at first, which made it hard to hear the musicians, but every 20 minutes or so, someone would depart, and we’d sneak a bit closer. 

Dublin Day Two: Howth

Howth is, if I dare say it, almost as incredible as the Cliffs of Moher, but minus the crowds. A little suburb on a peninsula off of Dublin, you can take the commuter train (the DART) there and back for 5€. There are four different loop trails to look at, and you can pick up the maps to each from the TI (about a 3-minute walk from the train station). We chose the second-longest, about 10km. We had planned to try the longest, but at only 2 additional km, it was way hillier, and most importantly, bypassed the Summitt (the mid-hike pub). 

The hike takes you up a narrow sidewalk at first alongside gated, fancy houses and condos, but once you get to the top, the actual trail begins. There are several viewpoint detours, and the trail is well marked with the four different options (which all run together for the first half of the hike). 

The views are absolutely incredible, and the first half of the trail takes you alongside the water (but way above it) for breathtaking scenery. As you near the lighthouse, the trails split, and those following the 8 or 10 km options are taken through town right past the pub. We didn’t eat, so I cannot comment on the food, but the pub had a great atmosphere, plenty of indoor and outdoor seating, and delicious beer options. 

From there we followed the red markers, which took us through another hiking area that is popular with the locals and their dogs, so we had to pay closer attention to the trail markers to avoid getting lost. At the top of one of the hills, we had a beautiful view of Dublin, before hiking back down into Howth. We grabbed a seafood lunch at Crabby Jo’s, which had great smoked salmon and a delicious seafood chowder. 

After lunch, we walked over to the Howth Castle, which now houses an automobile museum and cooking school (an interesting combination), but it was neat to walk around the grounds and see it. There are some paths near the castle and neighboring golf course, which are untraveled enough to make it seem like we were trespassing (we aren’t positive that we weren’t…).

That evening, we went to highly-recommended Darkey Kelly’s near the Temple Bar District. It was a bit disappointing, unfortunately; the food was OK, but overpriced, and in lieu of traditional Irish music, a band played Wagon Wheel (telling the audience that the song was called “Rock me Mama”).

On Wednesday, we took the Irish bus down to Trim to see the oldest Norman Castle in Ireland. We had planned to buy our tickets at the bus station with the promise of ticket machines that allow credit cards, but mysteriously all the machines were down, so we were forced to use the station ATM, which charged a fee in addition to an absurd exchange rate. (Until that point, we had gotten our cash at Bank ATMs only, which do not charge fees. Unfortunately, we just barely didn’t have enough euros for the bus fare!).

From the top of the castle.

The return ticket was 16€. We accidentally got off the bus one stop too soon, but it worked out as we took a long walk to the castle along the River Boyne. The River Walk was lovely, passing ruins along the way, and many locals with their dogs. Markers along the path tell the story of the history of the town. I would highly recommend the walk; not only is the path along the river lovely, but there are other medieval ruins to explore along the way.

We arrived at the castle behind a school group of about 50 kids, so we let them get a head start and took a quick Guinness break (it was almost noon). For lunch, we headed to a Rick Steve’s recommended (what we’ve begun affectionately referring to as Ricky’s Recs): Rosemary Bistro. My wife loved her burger, but unfortunately, the highly recommended tuna sandwich was really just a grilled cheese with a couple tuna sprinkles. (I should have taken a picture… when I say “tuna sprinkles,” I mean it literally.)

We headed back to Trim Castle and booked the next tour, which takes place every hour. While we waited, we explored the grounds. Though we had uncharacteristically sunny weather so far this week, our day in Trim was cloudy, but the impending drizzle held off for us to enjoy the outdoors.

The guide brought us through each level of the castle, sharing a bit about the history of the castle, what each of the rooms were used for. After about 45 minutes, we reached the top, awarding us with sensational views of the surrounding area. Our guide allowed us a few minutes to wander and enjoy the tower-top views before descending back down the narrow and steep windy staircase to exit back onto the grounds.

With about an hour until the next bus back to Dublin, we sought out a pub to relax with a pint. We discovered the hard way that before the height of tourist season and midweek, little was open, but we did stop into Sally’s for a pint of Guinness. We met other American travelers who had just begun their tour of Ireland following two weeks in Scotland, and enjoyed the artwork set into the heads of our Guinness draughts.

Day Four: Dublin Day

I had gone to bed feeling pretty beat and under the weather, so my wife allowed me to sleep in. I woke up about 8 minutes before the end of breakfast, which I take very seriously, so I threw on some clothes and ran downstairs to get my traditional Irish fare for one last time. 

Feeling better after some beans, eggs and a croissant, but still tired, we adapted our Dublin Day to hit the minimum. We had wanted to tour Kilmainham Gaol. Ricky’s Recs had warned us to reserve in advance during the high season, but since it was only mid-April, I figured we’d luck out. Unfortunately, we did not! 

Instead, we headed to the National History Museum, exploring the Iveagh Gardens and St. Stephen’s Green along the way. The National History Museum is free, and has enough to entertain folks for hours; we, however, focused on the main galleries for an hour, before heading out for some lunch.

We headed back to a pub featuring live music that my wife had noted earlier. It had a lovely patio, but as the cold rainy weather finally arrived for us, we ate and drank indoors (plus, the music was inside!) We ordered a toastie with some tomato soup and enjoyed the music. Even at a mostly empty pub at two o’clock in the afternoon on a Thursday – the musicians were quite talented. Here, we met more Americans; the wife was quite friendly, but the husband drowned out the music with his unending talk of golf courses, so we kindly took our leave and headed out.

We attempted the Brazen Head next; it was our Dublin tourist day, after all, but we balked at the food prices and instead settled for a pint on the beer garden. The indoor area was quite crowded, and though it was cold outside, the atmosphere was a bit calmer. From there we headed for our final Dublin meal, ordered much of the same that we would have eaten at the Brazen Head… but for half the price.

Then back to the hotel to pack up and roll out!

Dublin Lez-Travel rating:

Rainbows and gay bars are all over Dublin. We felt safe, and unlike Galway-area, not the only ones.

Ireland: In and Around Galway

On By JC ThrashIn Travel

We were fortunate enough to be sitting next to an off-duty Irish flight attendant (also gay), who not only provided sound advice for our trip, but also asked her friends for better wine and whisky than what they serve by default.

We landed in Dublin at 6:00am, flew through border control. We caught our coach (we used Dublin Express) to the Heuston Station, where we ate a full Irish breakfast – our first of many – and boarded our train to Galway. 

We booked a room at the Hardiman Hotel next to the train station and just off Eyre Square. It is a beautiful old building and lovely hotel, but fair warning: the rooms were HOT. The ancient windows made our hotel room into a greenhouse, as the uncharacteristically sunny days we enjoyed baked our room to over 80 degrees. The glass was hot to the touch and we could smell our curtains burning against it.

But otherwise, our stay in Galway was lovely. Once we arrived, we strolled the riverwalk while we waited for our rooms to be ready, enjoying the nice weather. After checking in, we grabbed dinner at The King’s Head, where I had my first of several Beef and Guinness Stew (mouth-wateringly good). And my wife, self-proclaimed fish and chips aficionado had the best she’s ever had. It was a somewhat pricey place, but the food was well worth the cost.

We crossed the street to Tig Cóilí, which featured traditional Irish music in the evenings. The pub was crowded, but we lucked out with bar stools near the back and enjoyed the music. 

What we learned about trad music sessions: many of the musicians don’t know each other and don’t play together regularly. Typically, any musician is welcome and can bring their instrument to join in. No mics, minimal singing and almost entirely instrumental, we observed musicians of all ages (as young as 18 and as old as perhaps 75) come together. One musician will begin a song, and one by one, the others join in. This was my favorite part of our experience in Ireland, where instead of shitty music blasting or mediocre DJs, there is live, talented and free music in almost every pub on almost every night, particularly in Galway, played by musicians just because they love it, with seemingly the only payment of a couple free drink tokens.

On our first full day, we joined a tour company to explore the Cliffs of Moher. Our tour guide was a bit eccentric, but he got us from point A to B (dangerously dodging bikers participating in a cross-county bike event). We chose the tour with Galway Tour Co. because they offered the most direct route to the cliffs, and the longest amount of time to explore (two hours). 

The path alongside the cliff is very narrow, barely wide enough for the two-way traffic, which made for a frustrating initial hike with fellow tourists packed in to get a glimpse of the UNESCO World Heritage site. We hustled as fast as possible down the path, stealing only a couple of glances at the cliffs, until we had hiked about half a mile and the crowds thinned out considerably. If we’d had more time, we would have loved to hike to the end and back, but unfortunately, most of the tour options are built around the philosophy of “here’s a thing to look at,” then “here’s a place to eat” then “here’s a quick stop for a selfie” and not built around allowing time to actually explore and experience. 

From there, we boarded the coach to Doolin for lunch. Now that we know what we know, for our next visit, we’ll take public transit to Doolin and begin the Cliffs of Moher hike in town, instead of at the overcrowded Visitor Center. In Doolin, we ate at McGann’s Pub, which had a delightful smoked salmon salad, and the best chips (fries) that we had in our time in Ireland. I finally ordered my first Guinness, which truly is worlds better in Ireland than American, even though we were across the country still from the brewery.

Day Three

On Sunday, we booked a ride on the ferry to Inishmore (Aran Islands). Related to what I said I’d do differently with the Cliffs of Moher, if we had made Doolin a home base for the cliffs, I would have done the same for the Aran Islands, taking the ferry from Doolin to Inishmere, the smallest island. 

Instead, we took a coach from Galway to Rossaveal to board the ferry to the largest island. The coach was a bit under an hour, the ferry 40 minutes. We reserved bicycles on the island from Aran Bike Hire, and it was a total clusterfuck with the entire ferry filled with tourists running to grab the bikes and begin their adventure. I had to go through three bikes before I found one with sufficient air in the tires, but it had plenty of other issues (loose brake calipers and jumpy shifters, for starters). But, the price was reasonable and the bikes got us to where we needed to be. (Next time, however, I’ll try the other bike rental company, Inis Mor Bike Hire, which is also right by the pier).

We took the low road first to be able to see the seal colony at low tide. Fortunately, as we are regular bikers, it didn’t take us long to get ahead of the crowds and families, and we enjoyed our ride more once we got out of the thick crowd and ahead of the horse-drawn carriages too (passing them was very scary though!). 

The views in Inishmore were absolutely gorgeous. We biked the five miles or so to the Fortress (Dun Aonghasa, 5€). It’s a climb on foot up to the top of cliffs where the ruins sit, harboring gorgeous views. Careful: there’s no fence or railing between the fortress and to the rock and ocean below!

We sat in the sun and enjoyed the views for a while, until the crowds we escaped on bike began arriving. We hiked back down to our bikes and took the high road back towards the port. On the high road, instead of passing the carriages, we were passed by tour buses. Typically at safe speeds and distances, but a few gave no fucks and flew by us, likely to pick up their customers at the fortress. 

We stopped at Joe Watty’s Pub. It was a delightful place, and not very overpriced despite the tourist crowds (our menu was for “low season” though, so this may not be the case during the summer). We had another seafood salad that was just as delicious before headed back to town. We had an hour to explore before our ferry departed, and we tried to bike out to the Black Fort, but with steep unpaved roads, we couldn’t make it with our dinky city bikes. We made a mental note to reserve mountain bikes next time. We boarded the ferry early to snag a spot on the roof (outside, where downstairs was indoors).

That night, we hit our favorite pub of our time in Galway: Tigin. The bartender was an absolute delight, and the musicians for the trad music session were wonderful. It wasn’t overly crowded, either, so we had a seat and could enjoy the tunes without drunk Irish students or loud Americans bumping into us.

On Monday morning, we enjoyed our last hotel breakfast (which had been delicious. If you risk the hot rooms to stay at the Hardiman, definitely get the package with breakfast). We walked to the train station and headed back to Dublin!

Lez-Travel Rating for Galway:

While we didn’t see any obvious display of pro-LGBTQ culture, we explored and didn’t need to hide that we were together; no one made any comments or gave us judgmental looks. A few establishments had rainbow flags, but not many. Going outside of the city and into the country did not feel as stark of a difference as it does in many U.S. metro areas (like Columbus), either. We didn’t feel out of place in the less urban areas outside of Galway. We did a few tours, and both times I believe we were the only gay couple in the group, but all the tour guides were friendly and accepting.

the South of France

On By JC ThrashIn Travel

What better reason to travel to the South of France than the marriage of two good friends? We booked our travel into Paris, with the high speed train to the region of Provence. The wedding took place in a small town in the countryside of Provence.

The day of the wedding, we had some time to explore before returning to get ready for the festivities. We headed to Les-Baux-de-Provence, a small village in the Alpilles mountains, situated beneath the ruins of a large medieval fortress, Chateau des Baux. We paid to park at the bottom of the hill and began the trek up the mountain.

When we made it to the top, we stopped to catch our breath before roaming along the edge of the cliffs to enjoy the magnificent view. In fact, we enjoyed the view for too long that we had to abandon our plans to pay to enter and explore the chateau, and instead began our trek back down the hill to head out.

Our next task was to drive back down the winding roads to St-Remy-de-Provence. Wednesday is market day in St. Remy, a massive collection of vendors that stretches through a significant area of the town. The bride had requested we purchase some lunch snacks for her – and did the same for ourselves. Fortunately, our friend was with us who spoke conversational French (my wife and I – far from it) and helped us purchase a diverse selection of cheese, meats, and bread.

At a cost of only 40€ (also about $40 at the time), we purchased enough cheese and meat to feed the entire bridal party and ourselves (four of us, about 10-12 people overall). And the quality – far from anything I have enjoyed in the States.

Despite the notion that the French hate Americans (honestly, due to my interaction with American tourists, I don’t blame them), that was not our experience in the southern countryside. The vendors were incredibly friendly to us, and were thrilled that one of our party spoke French. The vendors would correct small errors with a smile, and thank us. They even let us sample every cheese before we made the purchase! And I mean – decent hunks of sample cheese, and one for each of us.

Following the wedding festivities, my wife and I and our two friends journeyed on to Cassis, along the coast in the southern part of the region. My wife and I had rented a car, as Cassis and the town of the wedding were not easily accessible by train (due to the mountains, the train station in Cassis is 2 miles from the town).

[*A note on driving in France, as we made a couple of mistakes: 1) the speed limits aren’t suggestions like in the States. If you go even 2 km/hr over the speed limit, you could get a ticket. And you won’t get pulled over; there are speed violation cameras that will automatically send a bill to you – a whopping 135€ – if you aren’t careful! and 2) it’s illegal to turn right on red. Did we turn right at a red light? Yes. Did we get pulled over immediately? Yes. We were pulled out of the train station/rental car parking lot… fortunately, the police officer only shamed us a bit for not knowing the rules (fair) and did not give us a ticket.]

Wanting to check out La Route de Crêtes, a remarkable 30-minute drive along the seaside cliffs linked Cassis to La Ciotat, my wife and I drove first to La Ciotat, and explored a botanical garden, Parc du Mugel. A reasonably priced pay-lot is nearby for parking, then a 10-minute walk down a steep hill and past a beach will bring you to the park entrance.

The park was beautiful, and entry is free. It had lovely views of bay, and vegetation I did not expect to see in France (bamboo!? Palm trees!?). At the top of the hill, you’ll also get a beautiful view of the Calanques.

Once we got our fill of the park (hardly… I could have wandered there all day), we headed back to the car to start La Route de Crêtes. It definitely lived up to expectations. Though a somewhat scary drive at times (a VERY narrow, winding road), the views were breathtaking, and there were plenty of places to pull over and take in the views from outside the car. This one was our favorite lookout spot.

Once we arrived in Cassis, we found our hotel with some effort. An amazing thing about these towns in France is that they close off smaller streets and alleys during market days or dinner time, so that restaurants can use those areas for outdoor seating. But – the closed roads did make it tricky to get to our hotel! We ended up parking up the hill and dragging out luggage to our hotel, just off the city center. We stayed at a new Best Western; the rooms were very small and simple, but the price was reasonable and location was perfect.

We met our friends at a Rick Steves’ recommendation: Divino, a small and reasonably priced wine bar. The bartender was very friendly, and handed us some free charcuterie and olives to enjoy with our wine. He had three house selections (one white, rose, and red, all local) already selected and open, 7€ each, so you could select something without too much pressure and need to struggle through a French menu.

The next morning, we once again enjoyed market day (Fridays in Cassis). Though not as expansive as St Remy, the market still had much to offer, and we purchased cheese and bread to enjoy on our Calanque hike.

The Calanques: calanques are narrow valleys with sea inlets, surrounded by cliffs. Near Cassis, there are three notable Calanques: Port-Miou, Port-Pin, and d’En-Vau.

Port-Miou is a thirty minute walk from the Cassis city center, and it is a climb. You walk up from the port and through the wealthier part of town, so don’t forget to turn around and enjoy the view as you go (you may need to catch your breath anyway!). At the edge of town, you hike down a bit to reach Port-Miou.

View from in between Port-Miou and Port-Pin

A large sign for hikers show the other paths to the next two calanques. One route is steep and rocky, the other travels around – longer, but more gradual and more accessible. Even in the off-season (mid-October), the trail was quite crowded, so if you go in summer, start early!

We made it to Calanque Port-Pin in another twenty minutes from Port-Miou. The views were spectacular, and the small peddle beach beautiful. We got a later start than intended, and knowing it was another hour to Calanque d’En-Vau (each way), we bailed on seeing what is said to be the most beautiful of the three (next time!), and headed back. Exhausted from the hike and heat, we were thrilled to discover an offer from our hotel: since it was new, they offered each guest a free 1-hr private use of their spa. Fully recovered, we met our friends at a wine bar, La Maison de Jo et Gaby. We had intended to follow another Rick Steves recommendation, La Chai Cassidain, but sadly it no longer existed and had been replaced, in the same location. Nevertheless, it was delightful; we grabbed a small table in the alley and the bartender handed us a small menu with that day’s options for wine by the glass. The bartender understood English but spoke only French, taking time to help us with the pronunciations. He refused to pour my wife’s glass until she was able to pronounce the name of the wine correctly!

For our final destination, we headed to Nîmes, stopping first at Pont du Gard, a massive, 30-mile aqueduct designed by the Romans to provide fresh drinking water to Nîmes. In fact, it provided nine million gallons per day.

We had to return the rental car that afternoon and only had an hour available to explore Pont du Gard, but if we could do it again we’d allow 3-4. There are tours available and plenty of walking trails to get better views of the aqueduct. You can also rent kayaks to view the Roman sight from the Gardon River.

In Nîmes, we had a casual first night, picking up some pizza and heading to our airbnb to watch the Tennessee v. Alabama football game (Go Vols!). The next morning, we headed out to enjoy a full day of touring the city. Rick Steves mapped out a full day’s tour for Nîmes, complete with recommendations on where to eat.

The day started with the Roman Arena. We purchased the culture pass there, which provided us entry into all the roman monuments and the museum. The arena, much like the Colosseum in Rome, was pretty incredible to see firsthand. The climb to the top provided amazing views of the entire city as well. The audio-guide, though showcasing some over-enthusiastic voice-acting, was still quite informative.

From there, we walked across the street to the Roman World Museum. The museum was interesting, displaying thousands of Roman artifacts in the three-level, bright building. It’s worth a see if you have the time, but if you’re short on time, I’d recommend focusing on the Roman monuments.

The restaurant Rick Steves recommended was no more, so we hit up another place in the recommended square: Place du Marché. A note on eating in France – it takes a WHILE. Though the food is always incredible, meals are long, social events, even when you’re trying to simply grab a quick snack and coffee and then head out to sightsee (as we were hoping to do in Nîmes!). And if you’re hungry between 3-7pm, you’ll have a hard time finding food. Most restaurants serving dinner do not even open until 7:00 or 7:30pm.

From there, we continued the Rick Steves walking tour, heading to Maison Carrée. Dated back to AD4, the Maison Carrée is a stunning temple that’s stood the test of time, being consistently utilized for a variety of purposes since the Roman Empire. From there, we headed to the Fountain Garden, a lovely park (free entry) and the Temple of Diana, which is within. Finally, we walked over the Castellum, a small site on a residential street which is the end of the 30-mile aqueduct from Pont du Gard. And how about this: based on the water available, the lower holes serviced the wells of the neighborhoods. The higher holes – so, only when water was sufficiently available – serviced the homes of the wealthy. How’s that for equity!?

After our walking tour, we grabbed a pint (we had been drinking so much wine, as is customary, that we had really missed our beer!). We sat at a table outside, casually taking in our view: the massive, 2,000 year old arena. How the locals could get used to that is beyond me!

After our casual pint, we went around the corner to a bar with dozens of beer on tap, including many unique Belgians (which we looooove). At this bar, you could pour however much you want, so if you don’t want to be dragging yourself home after too much Begian tripel. And small pours means you get to try more!

To wrap up the day, we headed back to our airbnb to pack up and rest, needing to catch the 5am train back to the Paris airport in the morning.

Lez-Travel Rating for Cassis:

I felt a little out of place in Cassis, but it wasn’t because of my queerness. It was a huge tourist spot, and though winding down for the season, was still thriving with tourism. Perhaps it was more my socioeconomic status than my queerness, though the costs weren’t extreme, the town felt… uppity? I would go back for the nature and beauty that surrounds Cassis more than the town itself.

Lez-Travel Rating for Nîmes:

While we didn’t experience or see much LGBTQ culture (though in fairness, we didn’t seek it out), we wandered the city hand-in-hand without fear of harassment or hostile looks. Some establishments had the Pride flag hanging, including where we got our post-walk beers by the Arena.

Resources:

For our travel plans, we used primarily Rick Steves Provence & the French Riviera. We bought a used, older edition for cheap, (which I’m sure is why some of his recommendations had since ceased to exist). My favorite part about the Rick Steves book for this trip was him outlining a day-long walking tour in Nîmes. It saved us from planning out and estimating how much time each location would take, and we just followed his guidance and it was perfect!

Burlington, VT

On By JC ThrashIn Dog Companion, Travel

For my wife’s birthday, we headed north to what must be the most lesbian-friendly city in the world: Burlington, Vermont. A magical place filled with dogs, hikes, lakes, beer, and – of course – gay women – it was the perfect birthday adventure.

We booked a spot at the city campground – North Beach – which was tucked away just north of downtown along an old rail trail. Dog friendly year-round, the prices were reasonable and the campsites – despite being so close to the city – were decent. You won’t find yourself tucked away in the woods out of view from all of your camping neighbors, but you still have some shade and privacy and a decent amount of space for your car, tent and gear.

The first night, we walked to the downtown area to a nice restaurant with a dog-friendly patio, water bowls for the dogs already set out all over. We ordered cocktails, which were delicious, and definitely felt safe and in good company as dog-moms and as lesbians. We watched the sunset over the lake and enjoyed some music traveling over to us from a venue across the parking lot.

Downtown and the campground were linked by a paved walking trail, which sits along several urban parks on one side and gorgeous Lake Champlain on the others, so every morning we’d begin our day with a nice long walk, plenty of sniffs for the dog. For breakfast we headed to the Skinny Pancake, specializing in, of course, crepes. The food was great, and they had live music! Tonks was not keen on the trumpet.

Rail-trail along Lake Champlain

For my wife’s birthday dinner, we hiked over to a seasonal waterfront restaurant, Spot on the Dock. The food and drinks were okay, but the view, atmosphere and live music were definitely worth it. Not trying to hide its success as a tourist spot, it still had much to offer. Tonks, again, was scared of the trumpet.

The highlight of the trip was definitely getting to sample all of our favorite Vermont beers from the source. Switchback Ale is one of my go-to favorites, and was just as enjoyable from the brewery. The other beers, however, we weren’t as fond of, but we had fun picked out flights and sampling their many brews. At Switchback, dogs are allowed inside and outside. As we were camping and had Tonks with us, we hadn’t been indoors during our entire visit, so we took that opportunity to sit by the windows inside and enjoy some AC!

Exhausted after our big day, Tonks naps at Switchback Brewery

We also visited Zero Gravity, and I love their beer – in New England I snag a mix-pack every time I see one at the liquor store. The brewery is a great spot, with tons of dog-friendly outdoor space, and, they’re open all day! Like, in the morning, too! Kegs and eggs, anyone?

Foam Brewers was another great brewery we tried out. Also with a dog-friendly patio. A smaller brewery than the other two, it sits along a park and by Lake Champlain, easily walkable from our campsite (about 1 mile).

On our way out, we hit up Myers Bagel Bakery which was… the best damn bagel I have ever had in my life. And yes, I’ve been to New York. After we feasted, we waved farewell to beer-loving, bike-loving, outdoorsy, lesbian metropolis of Burlington. It’s the greatest gem of all of New England.

Lez-Travel Rating:

It may not surprise you to see three rainbows here. Burlington is one of the most gay-friendly places I have ever visited. It probably deserves ten rainbows.

[Trump’s] Love Nest

On By JC ThrashIn Bikes & Hikes, Travel

As our travel had, of course, been cancelled for spring and early summer, I had a few days off that were scheduled to expire on July 1. We love camping, and certainly that had been our hope, but though originally scheduled to reopen at the start of phase 2, campsites didn’t end up reopening until July 1. We instead looked at a variety of cabins in New Hampshire near the White Mountains, and found the perfect fit. A little efficiency one-room cabin near Lake Winnipesaukee, complete with a fire pit, grill, and walkable to the lake.

The drive up was rough – not because of usual traffic now gone due to covid – but first because of a hailstorm (not common in New England!) and then because of the wild amount of Trump signs. Wondering what these two lesbians got ourselves into, we glanced nervously at each other and a took a deep breath of mountain air with a bit of the stench of Trump.

Day 1

We pull into our cabin, immediately unload the car and bikes, take a seat on the lawn chairs outside the cabin and crack open a beer. We hadn’t been seated but for a few minutes when the host’s neighbor came home, said hello, and then opened the back of his trunk. Boxes of fireworks tumbled out of his car. He threw the boxes back inside, kept out a couple, and slammed the door shut. Grabbing one of the boxes, he walked over to us, and started passing along handfuls of firecrackers. Wide-eyed and unsure of what to do next, we put them in a pile (we never used them).

It started to rain, and we walked a bit down the street to a restaurant with a covered outdoor patio (Dockside in Alton Bay). No sooner had we sat down did the skies open; seated comfortably with draft beer in hand (only the second since March), we enjoyed the sound of the rain on the lake and watched the lightning in the distance.

We ordered lobster rolls and a couple draft beers each; they had a phenomenal selection of local crafts brews than we enjoyed while watching the rain. We overstayed our welcome a bit and headed home in the rain.

Day 2

Monday we awoke to only some light rain! Thrilled at our good fortune, we hit the road to a nearby rail trail in Wolfeboro, NH. 12 miles each way, it’s a packed dirt trail that was perfect for our cyclocross bikes with wider treaded tires (wouldn’t have been as fun on a full road bike).

We rode nearly the full distance, turning around as we started to get hungry.

We grabbed lunch in the continuing drizzle on the lake on Wolfeboro at Garwoods, a nicely spaced out patio on the lake. One woman tied a sweater around her face because of the restaurant’s ‘masks required sign.’ At first, we were discouraged by the seemingly-inflated menu prices, but put that aside for the sake of our amazing view of the lake. But we didn’t pay for the view alone: I had the MOST DELICIOUS salmon sandwich I have ever had in my life. Come to find out later, they also have a great bloody Mary. “Top 5 of my life,” the man we met from DC-area said, but unfortunately, we didn’t make it back to try it ourselves.

After lunch we drove to Mount Major, but by then the downpour was so intense we decided that climbing a mountain wasn’t in the cards. Instead, we took a stroll on a snowmobile trail, which was flat and peaceful, through the woods.

On the drive back “to town,” we blasted the floorboard heat to try and dry our only pair of sneakers.

Day 3: Mount Major

Still.Raining. But finally time to embrace Mount Major, rain or shine. Fortunately, most of the way up we are able to avoid the rain. It’s a short hike by miles, but nearly straight up at the end. My favorite hikes are those with crawling on rock faces and turning around to see breathtaking views! As I straighten out to stand up at what I think is near the top (spoiler: it wasn’t!), I sigh with relief that the rocks aren’t wet and slippery (yet) as I take in the view of the lake.

We press onward to the very top, where we have a full 360 view of the mountains, the lake and all around. Three ways up meet at this point and all are well marked to find the right path back down. We had about 60 seconds of views before the cloud cover came in at incredible speed and, after another 60 seconds, the first crash of thunder.

Glad to have brought our raincoats (which were cumbersome on the way up), we pull them on and rush back down the mountain, moving quickly to get under tree cover before the first lightning. We decide to take the longer, less steep way down, to enjoy the woods and avoid the slick rocks now that the rain had begun.

Days 4 and 5 we are back “at work,” working remotely from the cabin while enjoying the view from the lake. Of course, it’s still raining, but in the evening we’re able to put our skills to the test and manage to light a fire with the wet wood, and get it hot enough to stay lit once the drizzle starts again. The fire pit was a huge perk of our stay in NH, especially since we had not been able to go camping yet due to covid, and, though we love rain, being unable to have a fire the first few nights bummed us out! We made up for it with three nights of huge fires.

On our last day, we pack up the car and, of course, it’s the first rainless day we’ve had yet, so we head north around the lake for another hike, West Rattlesnake Mountain. A shorter hike with spectacular views, it was a perfect hike to end on. As we passed Mount Major, cars were parked a mile up and down the road, beyond the huge parking lot. Rattlesnake Mountain had been busy, but not ridiculous. (We got a lot of stares for wearing masks…!)

It was a lovely vacation, besides the Trump signs, the one bad meal, and the inability for New Hampshire people to wear masks.

Covid-19 is real. It is scary. Wear your damn mask.

Rattlesnake Mountain

Lez-Travel Rating:

Despite the many Trump signs, we felt safe around Alton Bay. A huge tourist area, I expect the locals are used to people from all sexual preferences and backgrounds, and though we didn’t seem to be in a crowd of queers, no one gave us any reason to feel unsafe, or even uncomfortable. Even our Airbnb host, a Trump fan, knew we were married and could not have been kinder to us (not to imply that all Trump fans hate the gays).