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I took a plane, a taxi, a train and a bus to get to my final destination – La Roche-en-Ardenne, Belgium, some 5714 miles away (as the crow flies). It was my first trip to this quaint town. As I customarily do, I was traveling solo.

As I disembarked from the bus and glanced around, I was immediately enamored with the enchanting town perched on the banks of a bend of the103 mile long Ourthe river. Surrounded by the Ardenne forest, La Roche-en-Ardenne lies in a deep gorge amid rocky cliffs. I heard water rippling over the small waterfall and smelled pine trees. Also, appealing were the ruins of a 11th century medieval castle overlooking the town of approximately 4,000 people.  My kind of town. River, forest, medieval castle and fresh air. Quaint. Gastronomic food. Walkable. Teeming with history. One has to want to go to La Roche-en-Ardenne, it is so out of the way and set in that deep ravine. A few roads in, a few roads out.

What would propel me to be so adventurous and visit a town in the middle of the Belgian Ardennes?… Read more

After years of living in Paris, France and Brussels, Belgium, and traveling extensively throughout Europe, I found I amassed many experiences and common sense tips as a solo traveler in Europe.

So… the purpose of my blog is to share my travel experiences, my learnings of history, common sense tips how to stay safe, how to research public transportation and how to save money while traveling. If you are not an international traveler as of yet, perhaps my blog can tweak your interest, whether Europe or elsewhere.

I became so adept at these trips that I designed custom tours for a few close friends and family.

The Beginning – Paris, France and a Wedding:

My travel life began when I had a one-way ticket to Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, to meet my future husband. Gratefully,  he was at the airport to pick me up because I didn’t have enough money for a return trip home to San Francisco.  I was nineteen years old.

In a small suburb outside of Paris, France, we married in a French civil ceremony. The entire ceremony was conducted in French and we needed a translator to tell us when to say our vows.… Read more