Best and Worst Cuisines Abroad

Throughout my travels, I've tasted some truly incredible dishes... and some pretty terrible ones as well. There've been countries that have stood out as gastronomic superstars, and others that have flopped horribly. From the divine to the downright disgusting, here's what I've found to be the most impressive and disappointing cuisines abroad: Best Cuisine: Greece How could I not choose Greek...

Medieval Charm in Ávila

Spain just makes you feel a certain way. There's something particularly magical about the small towns that transport you back in time to a different era. In the quaint village of Ávila in Castilla y León, this sense of old world enchantment still holds strong. Just an hour and a half outside of Madrid, this charming UNESCO World Heritage Site is most famous for its ancient medieval...

One Year Expatversary

3 continents | 12 countries | 35 cities | 1 lifelong love affair with Spain As hard as it is to believe, today marks 12 full months of living as an expat in Madrid. *Technically speaking, I moved to Madrid on September 15th, 2013 - but I don't count the two months I lived at home in Seattle this past summer.  Not only is it hard to fathom how fast the time has passed, but it's also surreal...

Paris Gives Me Heart Sparkles

You know how everybody sobs uncontrollably during the first 15 minutes of the movie "Up" or the ending of "Titanic"? Well, that also happens to me when I watch the opening scene of "Midnight in Paris". My name is Courtney, and I am a Francophile. This past Friday morning on my way to Istanbul, I had a layover in Paris. I don't usually get too excited about layovers, especially when I'm half...

Gluten-Free Pinchos Crawling on Logroño's Calle Laurel

In the north of Spain, tapas are known as pinchos (or "pintxos") and are usually served atop a small piece of bread. As delicious as these appetizers may be, this tradition assuredly sounds like a Celiac's worst nightmare. Upon traveling to Logroño, La Rioja - the capital city of Spain's wine country - all I heard was talk of the famous pinchos on Calle Laurel.  This notorious street...

Wine Tasting in Haro, La Rioja

Heaven is a place on earth, and that place is Haro, La Rioja. Last weekend we ventured to the heart of Spanish wine country in search of the perfect glass of fruity, smooth and subtle Rioja wine. Thankfully, after wine tasting in Haro - the wine capital of Rioja - we found just that.  Recently, Spain has surpassed both France and Italy by becoming the world's largest wine producer....