September 19th-20th, 2025 We decide to spend our first full day in Cape Breton exploring some of the National Park hikes in our immediate surroundings. Our first step was to procure our passes for the park. Since we have two cars and two itineraries, Kitty & I get a pass that will last us the… Continue reading Middlehead, Mussels & North Cape Farmer’s Market
Author: Lorena L. Russell
My partner Kitty and I have lived in Asheville NC since 1982 and have recently retired. We'll use this blog primarily to track our travel experiences near home and afar.
The North Peninsula
18 Sept 2025 The northernmost section of Cape Breton lies outside of the National Forest, and I’m eager to see what it’s like. I find it is notably sparse in population with a boreal forest is full of spruce & birches (two of my favorites). The roads get windier and windier the farther north one… Continue reading The North Peninsula
Getting There Is Half the Fun
The drive from Halifax Airport to Cape Breton takes about 5.5 hours, and goes from the relatively flat landscape around Halifax to the dramatic cliffs of the island’s coastline. I’m struck with the lack of development and wide-open wild spaces. There are very few cars on the road and it’s generally an easy drive. We… Continue reading Getting There Is Half the Fun
Asheville to Halifax
After several months of intense planning, our departure date for Nova Scotia travels has finally arrived. I am a big fan of Canada, and even more so today considering the toxic politics of the US. In the past we’ve traveled to Vancouver, Toronto, Quebec (Montréal, Quebec City, Tadoussac). This will be our third trip to… Continue reading Asheville to Halifax
Madrid Final Days
February 12, 2024 The title sounds a bit ominous, but it’s been a good finish to our time in Madrid. It took Kitty a while to get her mojo back, but one of those days was the worst weather day we’d had with heavy rain, high winds and cold temps. It even sleeted for a… Continue reading Madrid Final Days
Solo Segovia
8 February 2024 Solo mode is not my favorite way to travel. Kitty and I so have our schtick down. We help balance each other in any number of ways. Traveling, I can get a bit driven while Kitty is often content to relax in one place: I keep her moving and she keeps me… Continue reading Solo Segovia
Settling In
Madrid, February 5-7. 2024 Our pattern of daily rhythms from our last post continues as we move into our fifth week here in Madrid. We are settling into routines punctuated by errands and less by monuments, but are still encountering wonderful & surprising spaces and people. On Sunday we decide to walk from Chamberí down… Continue reading Settling In
Daily Rhythms
Madrid, February 2-3 We’ve had a quiet two days sticking close to the neighborhood and centering our days around lunch and housekeeping. We seem to have adapted to Spanish time: we are sleeping later (9:00), eating toast for breakfast, lunch at 2:00 or 2:30 and then dinner at 9:00. Even though our pace has slowed… Continue reading Daily Rhythms
Toledo
29-30 January 2024 We had a great overnight trip overall to Toledo, though our initial impression was clouded by the crowds and the tacky tourist industry that dominates the town. I knew about the armor and the swords, but I wasn’t prepared for how almost every other store was selling medieval weaponry. They had silver… Continue reading Toledo
Las Letras
Madrid, 26 January 2024 Friday, we started out top of the world. The Circulo de Bellas Artes Building is right down town. You pay a small fee and ride up an elevator to the rooftop. There are tables and a café. We were early enough to get a primo table. The day was clear and the views were spectacular. I sat… Continue reading Las Letras
K & L's Travel Blog 