Europe
in EUROPE
Paris, France | Berlin, Germany | Dublin, Ireland | Barcelona, Spain | Douro Valley, Portugal
Lisbon, Portugal | Map and Muse moves to Spain | Santiago de Compostela, Spain | Madrid, Spain
HIKING IN LAS ALPUJARRAS, SPAIN
The excursión is a big part of our life in Spain. Weekends are spent hiking or biking the seemingly hundreds of amazing natural parks. Shortly after we moved to Granada, my husband told me that one of his mountain biking buddies had invited us to caminar las alpujarras with a group of local families … Read More
16 FAVORITE PLACES IN MADRID
I love Madrid. I love the vibrant, friendly Madrileños. I stay on Huertas Street in the Barrio de las Letras, Madrid’s oldest neighborhood and also one of its most lively. This neighborhood has a mix of shops, galleries, coffee houses, bars and excellent restaurants, from old tabernas to trendy tapas bars and everything in between … Read More
TOP 10 PARIS BOULANGERIES, PATISSERIES …
We took our kids to Paris for the first time and went crazy for sweets. Trusted friends had given us a list of the city’s best boulangeries, patisseries and glaciers (pastry, bread and ice cream makers). We starred them on our map and ducked in every time we passed one. So much fun … Read More
PHOTOGRAPHER’S JOURNAL : BERLIN
It was the first time I was in Berlin, actually, the first time I was in Germany. I was very curious about Berlin and had all these pre-conceived ideas about how the city would feel. Many people had already told me it was amazing. It was summer, so maybe that had something to do with it but nonetheless I found the city to be lovely. It’s quite multicultural and it has a neighborhood feeling … Read More
THE DOURO VALLEY, PORTUGAL
We dipped down into Portugal’s Douro Valley on a late December afternoon, after driving over from Santiago de Compostela in Spain. I was wide eyed, anticipating the ribbons of green and clusters of white stucco quintas with terra-cotta tiled roofs that would let me know I was in port wine country. I could taste the “tawny” just thinking about it. I love a good landscape. I love port … Read More
O CURRO DA PARRA, SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, SPAIN
My family and I had a delicious, dreamy meal at O Curro da Parra. We didn’t have a lunch reservation so we wandered up late morning and seeing that there was a small light on at the back of the restaurant, we tapped on the door. The place was warm and festive; it was December 24th, Christmas Eve in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The guys inside welcomed us and said “We’ll get a nice table ready for you. Come back in when we open.” We returned on time and were led upstairs to a small stone and timber beamed room to a table next to the window. It was a beautiful blur from then on. We listened (to recommendations and stories about the food), selected, sipped, tasted Galicia’s hand picked best: cheese, seafood, pork, wine… We talked and we laughed. By the time coffee was served our waiter was our new best friend … Read More
15 FAVORITE THINGS TO DO IN DUBLIN
I have just returned from my first visit to Dublin, Ireland. I had only had three days, but I went for it and ….what a trip! When you’re in Dublin, check out some of the places on this list. (I’ve only included my favorites). Enjoy!
1. Ha’Penny Bridge
2. The Winding Stair Bookshop
3. Trinity College
4. Queen of Tarts
5. Vintage Cocktail Club
6. Brother Hubbard …
MAP + MUSE MOVES TO SPAIN
We have moved to Spain! We placed our material things in storage, settled our sweet dog Boomer in for an extended vacation with family and hit the road! Well, it is not as simple as that… and yet it is also as simple as that.
We are here for some sweet family time, to learn Spanish and to share the journey of living in another culture with our children. These three things guided our conviction that we do this, but there is a long list of whys to overwhelm the why nots, including: olive oil, Mediterranean swims, history, siestas, tapas, festivals, wine and of course, the Spanish themselves, whose extraordinary warmth and friendliness embraced us upon arrival … Read More
LISBON : A PHOTOGRAPHER’S JOURNAL
I have always liked Lisbon. It’s a very friendly and warm city most of the time, even when it rains. I arrived by bus, crossing the 25th April Bridge (a tribute to the Carnation Revolution back in 1974, which overthrew the Estado Novo, a one party, fascist and nationalistic matrix type of government) into a cloudy and gloomy scene. It was early, about 10am, and you could see the mist coming out of the River Tagus … Read More
HOLA BARCELONA!
Our plane descended with the sun and we stepped out into a beautiful Barcelona evening. It was seven o’clock and the night was just getting started. We had no intention of adjusting to a new time zone on this short holiday. We had no meetings to make, no routine to hold and, without children, we could sleep and wake whenever we felt like it. Barcelona proved to be the perfect destination for us: The Catalan lifestyle of late nights, late mornings and mid-day naps matched our internal West Coast clocks … Read More
MADRID, BARCELONA & MANCHESTER
“… This race has been on my mind since it became the first non-US race under the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series starting last year. The fact that I had never set foot in the Spanish capital was also a strong pull, since I believe there’s no better way to see and explore a city than by conquering its streets in running shoes. The urban full marathon course took us on a journey past many of Madrid’s best sites including Estadio Santiago Bernabeu and Estadio Vicente Calderon, homes to a pair of world-famous football teams: Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. As pretty and charming as it was, Madrid is a very hilly city and … Read More